J.Wilbur  Chapman 


HAND-BOOKS  FOR  PRACTICAL  WORKERS 


Revivals  and  Missions 


BY 
Rev.  J.  WILBUR  CHAPMAN,  D.D. 

AUTHOR   OF 

IVORY  PALACES,"    "RECEIVED   YE   THE   HOLY  GHOST,' 

*' KADESH-BARNEA,"    "  THE  SECRET    OF   A 

HAPPY   DAY,"    ETC.,    ETC. 


^ 


NEW  YORK 
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Copyright,  1900, 
LENTILHON  &  COMPANY 


(to  lUg  IDife 

W\\05c  self'Sacriftce  l\as  enahhh  me  to  bo 

tl)e  xDotk  of  an  €t)angelist,  anb  to  n7t)ose  becotion  anb 

sgrnpatl^a  i^  "^y  ujork  3  ou?e  more  tljan 

3  can  erer  repay,  tt^is  little  book 

is  bebicateb 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 


In  the  preparation  of  this  book  I  desire  to  ac- 
knowledge the  following  books  from  which  quota- 
tions have  been  made.  They  have  ever  been  an  in- 
spiration to  me  in  my  work.  May  they  be  so  to 
others. 

Luke  Tyevirian,  Life  of  George  Whiteiield,  Lon- 
don, N.  Y.,  1876;  Bennet  Tyler,  Memoir  of  Asahel 
Nettleton,  Boston,  1844;  Autobiography  of  Charles 
G.  Finney,  N.  Y.,  1876;  Jonathan  Edwards,  On  re- 
vivals, New  York,  1845  '  Joseph  Tracy,  The  Great 
Azvakening,  a  history  of  the  revival  of  religion  in 
the  time  of  Edwards  and  Whiteiield,  Boston,  1842; 
H.  C.  ¥is\i,Hand  hook  of  revivals,  Boston,  1874;  E. 
W.  Kirth,  Lectures  on  revivals,  Boston,  1874 ;  W. 
W.  Newell,  Revivals,  hozv  and  zvhen.  New  York, 
1882;  Herrick  Johnson,  Revivals,  their  place  and 
pozver,  Chicago,  1883 ;  Halliday  and  Gregory,  The 
Church  in  America  and  its  baptisms  of  fire,  New 
York,  1896. 

The  chapters  upon  Parochial  Missions  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  have  been  reprinted  by 
permission  from  the  manual  published  by  the  Paro- 
chial Mission  Society. 

J.  w.  c. 

V 


PREFACE 


In  1879  ^vhile  a  student  at  Lake  Forest  Uni- 
versity, associated  with  Rev.  B.  Fay  Mills  as  a  class- 
mate, I  received  my  first  inspiration  to  do  the  work 
of  an  Evangelist. 

In  my  early  ministry-  and  first  pastorates  I  studied 
both  men  and  methods  that  I  might  be  able  some 
day  to  do  the  work  acceptably. 

While  preaching  in  Schuyler\-ille,  X.  Y.,  I  at- 
tended a  series  of  meetings  in  Albany  conducted  by 
D.  L.  Moody.  Here  the  conviction  grew  upon  me 
that  I  ought  to  devote  my  entire  time  to  the  work, 
but  the  way  did  not  open  at  this  time.  I  was  called 
to  the  First  Reformed  Church  at  Albany,  and  for 
five  happy  years  served  one  of  the  most  consen'ative 
and  aristocratic  churches  in  the  state. 

E\-angelistic  methods  such  as  are  described  in  this 
book  were  tried  there,  with  the  result  that  the  old 
church  was  transformed :  and  for  three  and  a  half 
years  was  crowded  to  the  doors  with  an  eager,  anx- 
ious people,  many  of  whom  were  converted. 

This  was  another  step  in  the  school  of  prepara- 
tion. 

From  this  pastorate  I  was  called  to  succeed  Rev. 

vii 


Vlll  PREFACE 

A.  T.  Pierson,  D.  D.,  in  the  Bethany  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Philadelphia,  probably  one  of  the  most 
Evangelistic  Churches  in  the  country. 

For  three  years  my  ministry  was  Evangelistic  in 
€verv  way.  During  all  this  time  the  calls  for  help 
were  coming  to  me  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  at  last  I  yielded  to  the  pressure  and  went  forth 
after  resigning  my  Church,  to  do  the  general  work 
of  an  evangelist,  and  for  three  years  I  labored  in 
most  of  the  principal  cities  of  our  country.  All  this 
time  my  Church  in  Philadelphia  was  without  a  regu- 
lar pastor.  Repeated  overtures  were  made  to  me  to 
return,  and  at  last  with  the  understanding  that  I 
could  if  I  wished  have  half  my  time  for  evangelistic 
work  and  half  for  my  Church,  I  returned.  After 
three  years  of  labor  in  connection  with  my  associate 
pastors  I  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Fourth 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  New  York  City,  in  which 
field  I  am  now  laboring.  This  extended  explana- 
tion is  made  that  my  readers  may  know  that 
I  write  both  from  the  standpoint  of  an  evangelist 
and  pastor.  Not  a  suggestion  is  here  recorded  but 
has  been  tried  with  some  slight  modification  in  all 
my  fields  of  labor,  not  a  method  is  suggested  but 
what  God  has  set  His  seal  upon  it  in  days  past. 
There  is  nothing  theoretical  in  the  entire  book,  it  is 
nothing  if  not  practical.  If  the  points  indicated  are 
adopted,  with  such  modifications  as  each  Church  or 
community  may  demand,  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
result  may  not  be  a  genuine  revival  of  religion.  The 
texts  given  at  the  close  of  the  book  have  all  been 
used  in  special  services.    They  will  reach  all  classes 


PREFACE  IX 

and  conditions  of  society.  This  book  goes  forth  with 
my  earnest  prayer  that  God  may  make  it  a  blessing 
to  many. 

J.  Wilbur  Chapman, 
New  York  City,  1900. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAQB 

Revivals  Defined    i 

CHAPTER  H 
Revivals  in  American  History   12 

CHAPTER  HI 
Revivals  in  American  History  (Continued)   24 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Prince  of  Modern  Revivalists 39 

CHAPTER  V 
Objections  to   Revivals    59 

CHAPTER  VI 
Indications  of  a  Revival   67 

CHAPTER  VII 
Preparing  for  a  Revival   80 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The    Method    of   Work    83 

CHAPTER  IX 
Preaching  in  Revivals   107 

CHAPTER  X 

A  Revival  in  the  Sunday  School  121 

i 


11  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XI 

PAGE. 

Revivals  Helped  I33 

CHAPTER  XH 
Revivals  Hindered I39 

CHAPTER  XHI 
Revival  Sermon  Outline  and  Texts 144 

CHAPTER  XIV 
History    of    the    Parochial    jMission    in    the    Episcopal 
Church 158 

CHAPTER  XV 
The  Preparation  for  the  iMission  162 

CHAPTER  XVI 
Conduct  of  the  Mission    I73 

CHAPTER  XVII 
After  Work  of  the  Mission 183 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Catholic   Missions    188 

CHAPTER  XIX 
The  Story  of  a  Catholic  Mission   194 


Revivals   and   Missions 


CHAPTER  I 

REVIVALS  DEFINED 


In  the  minds  of  many  people  there  is  a  very  de- 
cided prejudice  against  what  are  termed  "  Revivals 
of  Religion."  This  prejudice  is  not  alone  to  be  found 
in  the  pews,  but  in  many  cases  extends  to  the  pulpit, 
and  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  found  who  express 
themselves  as  regarding  revivals  as  producing  ab- 
normal and  undesirable  conditions  of  church  life. 
They  say  that  they  are  not  infrequently  attended 
with  very  serious  evils ;  that  they  are  simply  bursts 
of  enthusiasm  or  excitement  which  last  for  a  day  and 
then  pass  away,  leaving  the  last  state  of  the  Church 
worse  than  the  first.  They  say  that  the  only  true 
way  for  a  church  to  grow  is  by  constant  accessions 
from  the  world,  and  they  affirm  that  God's  people 
should  always  be  in  a  revived  condition. 

There  is  much  of  truth  to  support  this  view,  but 
the  facts  in  many  cases  are  against  it ;  for,  as  a  rule, 


2  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

the  Church  does  not  have  a  steady  growth,  and  much 
of  the  history  of  the  Church  in  past  days  has  been 
along  the  Hne  of  revival  effort.  That  God's  people 
are  not  always  revived  is  true,  to  their  shame: 
and  whether  we  approve  of  revivals  or  not,  we  must 
certainly  acknowledge  that  they  have  in  the  past 
been  God's  chosen  method  for  directly  quicken- 
ing His  people  and  indirectly  leading  the  unsaved 
to  an  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Much  of  the  indifference  to  be  found  to-day  arises 
from  a  confusion  of  terms.  Strictly  speaking,  the 
word  "  Revive  "  means  to  bring  again  to  life,  or  to 
reanimate,  and  while  we  may  speak  of  Christians  as 
being  revived,  the  expression  could  never  be  used  in 
connection  with  the  unregenerate,  for  they  are  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
and  a  reviving  presupposes  life,  which  does  not  exist 
in  the  unsaved  man. 

In  popular  use,  however,  the  word  '*  Revival  "  em- 
braces not  only  the  idea  of  the  quickening  of  the 
saints,  but  the  conversion  of  sinners:  and  we  feel 
very  sure  that  under  existing  circumstances  no  bet- 
ter word  could  be  used.  Indeed,  it  naturally  follows 
that  wdiere  Christians  are  quickened  there  will  al- 
ways be  conversions ;  and  so,  as  we  use  the  word 
in  this  book,  the  thought  shall  always  be  the  arousing 
of  the  Church  and  the  saving  of  the  lost. 

*  Dr.  Hetherington,  of  Scotland,  gives  the  follow- 
ing very  just  criticism  upon  the  term  revival :  "  The 
word  itself  (in  some  of  its  forms)  is  often  used  in 


*  Handbook  of  revivals. 


REVIVALS    DEFINED  3 

Scripture ;  and,  as  so  used,  it  generally  implies  the 
reproduction  of  a  spiritual  life  which  had  almost  died 
away.  It  is  not,  however,  synonymous  with  the 
term  conversion;  for  while  revival  implies  the  re- 
newal of  a  life  which  had  almost  died  away,  conver- 
sion strictly  means  the  conferring  of  a  spiritual  life 
not  before  existing.  In  truth,  it  so  happens  that  re- 
vivals and  conversions  commonly  accompany  each 
other:  so  that,  where  conversions  are  frequent  and 
striking,  many  will  be  re-quickened  or  revived." 

The  word  revival  is  used  because  God  has  set  His 
seal  upon  it  in  the  Bible.  It  is  a  word  a  good  deal 
older  than  the  Church.  For  revivals  in  Old  Testa- 
ment times  the  Prophets  prayed,  and  the  word  is  as- 
sociated with  some  of  the  grandest  scenes  of  Bible 
history. 

"  It  presents  to  our  vision  a  tender,  loving  quick- 
ened Church,  pleading  w4th  God  and  men,  while 
new-born  souls  are  praising  and  honoring  Jesus. 
Saints  of  old  wrought  for  revivals.  Angels  exult 
over  them.  Jesus  infinitely  loved  them,  and  Je- 
hovah is  glorified  by  them.  True  Christians  may 
rightly  object  to  fanaticism  and  wildfire:  but  they 
cannot  object  to  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit.  And 
wherever  Christians  may  be,  they  should  always  la- 
bor for  the  lost,  with  entire  dependence  on  this  di- 
vine influence." 

With  a  strong  belief  in  the  desirableness  of  a  revi- 
val, it  is  easy  enough,  if  we  put  ourselves  in  right 
relations  with  God,  to  experience  the  joy  of  such 
work  at  any  time.  God  is  not  to  be  limited  to  spec- 
ial seasons  of  the  year.    His  blessings  are  not  con- 


4  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

fined  to  any  particular  set  of  men,  and  we  believe 
that  any  Church  could  speedily  enter  upon  a  blessed 
experience  in  revival  work  if  God  were  simply  taken 
at  His  word. 

'^  "  During  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  in  the  City  of 
New  York  a  number  of  years  ago,  the  Rev.  R.  R. 
Booth,  D.  D.,  of  the  University  Place  Church,  was 
deeply  impressed  with  the  value  of  that  revival.  He 
said  to  a  convention  of  ministers :  '  Look  at  this  as- 
sembly. The  simple  Gospel  has  been  preached  here 
to  sinners,  not  as  a  plea  against  infidelity,  but  as  a 
proclamation.  We  thought  we  were  all  dead,  frozen, 
and  crystallized.  But  this  work  has  held  New  York 
for  a  month.  I  believe  if  this  could  go  on  for  six 
months  our  police  might  be  disbanded,  and  we  could 
hold  New  York  for  God.' 

"  The  Doctor  carried  this  spirit  into  his  own 
Church  work,  for  he  added :  '  Such  a  thing  as  an 
inquiry  meeting  had  never  taken  place  under  my  so- 
ber ministry  in  my  staid  church :  but  I  resolved  that 
I  would  appoint  one.  On  Sabbath  morning  I 
preached  from  the  text,  '*  Come,  for  all  things  are 
now  ready."  I  said  to  them :  "  This  sermon  pre- 
supposes and  involves  an  invitation,  nozu  and  here. 
It  does  not  imply  that  you  are  to  go  away  after  the 
sermon  and  spend  two  or  three  hours  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  but 
that  now  and  here  you  are  to  have  an  opportunity  of 
accepting  Christ."  The  inquiry  meeting  was  ap- 
pointed, and  ten  persons    came    in    and    accepted 


*  Revivals,  hoiv  and  wlwn. 


REVIVALS   DEFINED  5 

Christ ;  and  one  of  them  was  a  dear  young  man  for 
whom  I  had  long  been  yearning/ 

''  Dr.  Booth  continued :  *  Brethren,  have  we  not 
to  revolutionize  the  whole  system  of  preaching,  and 
change  somewhat  our  mode  of  operations?  The 
trouble  is  our  sermons  do  not  mount  to  the  climax. 
If  they  are  mere  orations  and  theories  of  Christian- 
ity, an  invitation  at  such  a  meeting  is  incongruous 
and  absurd.  But  when  the  sermon  says  Come,  from 
beginning  to  end.  When  it  is  appended  to  the  cross, 
when  it  is  bleeding  wuth  tears  and  sobs  all  the  way 
through,  then  we  can  say,  "  Come  to  Jesus."  '  This 
action  and  testimony  showed  a  hearty  belief  in  re- 
vivals. How,  indeed,  can  their  w^orth  be  ques- 
tioned ?  " 

It  would  seem  to  us  that  every  thoughtful  student 
of  the  word  of  God  must  come  to  a  hearty  belief  in 
this  most  important  subject.  The  Old  Testament  is 
filled  with  its  references  to  times  of  humiliation  and 
corresponding  times  of  exultation.  The  earthly  life 
of  Jesus  was  one  constant  experience  of  revival. 
After  He  had  risen  from  the  dead  the  early  history 
of  the  Church  was  a  history  of  revival :  and  he  who 
would  say  a  word  against  the  subject  would  really 
strike  at  what  has  been  the  chosen  plan  of  God  for 
the  advancement  of  His  kingdom,  always  and  every- 
w^here. 

In  the  life  of  Mrs.  Catherine  Booth  a  story  is  told 
of  a  certain  English  family  who  reared  in  their 
household  a  pet  tiger.  They  had  treated  it  as  we 
would  treat  a  domestic  animal.  One  morning  the 
mother  of  the  house,  looking  out  over  the  spacious 


O  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

lawn,  saw  her  little  child  playing  under  the  trees 
with  the  tiger.  A  little  later  she  heard  a  shriek  and 
a  scream,  and  the  tiger  came  bounding  into  the 
house  with  blood  upon  its  mouth  and  feet.  Quick 
as  a  flash  it  occurred  to  the  mother  that  the  old  tiger 
nature  had  asserted  itself  and  that  the  child  was 
slain.  She  rushed  into  her  husband's  presence,  told 
him  of  her  fears,  and  he,  quickly  raising  above  his 
head  a  piece  of  marble  used  to  keep  the  door  in  place, 
hurled  it  at  the  tiger  and  killed  it  instantly,  and  with 
clasped  hands  the  father  and  mother  made  their  way 
out  from  the  house,  expecting  to  find  the  mangled 
body  of  their  child ;  but  instead  they  saw  the  little 
one  under  the  trees,  with  its  face  pale  as  death,  and 
not  far  away  the  body  of  a  wild  beast  slain.  It  had 
escaped  from  a  menagerie  not  far  away,  had 
made  an  attack  upon  the  child,  and  the  tiger  had 
saved  the  life  of  the  little  one.  The  father  had  taken 
the  life  of  that  which  had  protected  their  child  and 
meant  the  real  joy  of  their  home. 

Thus  it  is  with  the  one  who  makes  an  attack  upon 
Revivals  of  Religion.  They  are  not  always  free 
from  criticism  as  they  are  conducted,  but  if  we  follow 
the  Scriptural  method  and  wait  upon  God  for  direc- 
tion there  can  be  no  better  experience  for  the  indi- 
vidual or  the  Church. 

Revivals  are  seasons  when  Christians  are  aroused 
to  a  more  spiritual  frame  of  mind ;  when  special 
revelations  of  divine  things  are  made  to  them ;  when 
they  seem  to  understand  better  how  to  pray ;  when 
it  is  certainly  more  easy  to  put  forth  efforts  to  save 
;  the  unsaved. 


REVIVALS    DEFINED  / 

*  Mr.  Finney  says :  "  Look  back  at  the  history  of 
the  Jews,  and  you  will  see  that  God  used  to  maintain 
religion  among  them  by  special  occasions,  when 
there  would  be  a  great  excitement,  and  people  would 
turn  to  the  Lord.  And  after  they  had  been  thus  re- 
vived, it  would  be  but  a  short  time  before  there 
would  be  so  many  counteracting  influences  brought 
to  bear  upon  them,  that  religion  would  decline  and 
keep  on  declining  till  God  could  have  time — so  to 
speak — to  shape  the  course  of  events  so  as  to  pro- 
duce another  excitement,  and  then  pour  out  His 
spirit  again  to  convert  sinners.  Then  the  counter- 
acting causes  would  again  operate,  and  religion 
would  decline,  and  the  nation  would  be  swept  away 
in  the  vortex  of  luxury,  idolatry  and  pride. 

"  There  is  so  little  principle  in  the  Church,  so  lit- 
tle firmness  and  stability  of  purpose,  that  unless  they 
are  greatly  excited,  they  will  not  obey  God.  They 
have  so  little  knowledge,  and  their  principles  are  so 
weak,  that  unless  they  are  excited,  they  will  go  back 
from  the  path  of  duty,  and  do  nothing  to  promote 
the  glory  of  God.  The  state  of  the  world  is  still 
such,  and  probably  will  be  till  the  millennium  is  fully 
.come,  that  religion  must  be  mainly  promoted  by 
these  excitements.  How  long  and  how  often  has  the 
experiment  been  tried  to  bring  the  Church  to  act 
steadily  for  God,  without  these  periodical  excite- 
ments? Many  good  men  have  supposed,  and  still 
suppose,  that  the  best  way  to  promote  religion  is  to 
go  along   uniformly,    and    gather   in   the    ungodly 


*  Revivals  of  religion. 


8  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

gradually  and  without  excitement.  But  however 
such  reasoning  may  appear  in  the  abstract,  facts 
demonstrate  its  futility.  If  the  Church  were  far 
enough  advanced  in  knowledge,  and  had  stability  of 
principle  enough  to  keep  azvake,  such  a  course  would 
do ;  but  the  Church  is  so  little  enlightened,  and  there 
are  so  many  counteracting  causes,  that  the  Church 
-will  not  go  steadily  to  work  without  a  special  ex- 
citement." 

According  to  this  most  wonderful  man  and  the 
Prince  of  Evangelists,  a  revival  means,  first  of  all, 
the  conviction  of  sin  on  the  part  of  the  Church ; 
backslidden  professors  aroused  and  set  to  work ;  the 
renewing  of  faith  on  the  part  of  Christians ;  the 
breaking  of  the  power  of  the  world  and  of  sin  over 
the  children  of  God ;  and  when  the  churches  are  thus 
awakened  the  salvation  of  sinners  will  follow,  going 
through  the  same  stages  of  conviction,  repentance 
and  regeneration.  Their  wills  will  be  broken  down 
and  their  lives  changed.  Very  often  the  most  aban- 
doned profligates  are  among  the  subjects.  Harlots 
and  drunkards  and  infidels  and  all  sorts  of  aban- 
doned characters  are  softened  and  reclaimed  and 
made  to  appear  as  lovely  specimens  of  the  beauty  of 
holiness. 

Revivals  may  be  either  false  or  genuine.  If  they 
are  false,  they  are  the  result  of  human  agency.  They 
are  simply  a  time  of  excitement,  followed  by  reac- 
tion ;  and  that  is  in  no  sense  a  revival. 

Genuine  revivals  are  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  Until 
the  Spirit  be  poured  out  from  on  high  Christians 
cannot  be  quickened  and  sinners  cannot  be  saved. 


REVIVALS   DEFINED  9 

"  The  effective  cause  in  all  true  revivals  is  the  life- 
giving,  light-imparting,  quickening,  regenerating 
and  sanctifying  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  convert- 
ing the  hardened  sinner  and  reclaiming  the  backslid- 
den and  dormant  believer." 

The  quaint  old  Thomas  Adams  says :  ''  No  means 
on  earth  can  soften  the  heart ;  whether  you  anoint 
it  with  the  supple  balms  of  entreaties  or  thunder 
against  it  the  bolts  of  menaces  or  beat  it  with  the 
hammer  of  mortal  blows.  Behold,  God  showers  His 
rain  from  heaven,  and  it  is  suddenly  softened.  One 
sermon  may  prick  to  the  heart.  One  drop  of  a 
Saviour's  blood,  distilled  on  it  by  the  Spirit,  in  the 
preaching  of  the  word,  melts  it  like  wax.  The 
drunkard  is  made  sober,  the  adulterer  chaste,  Zac- 
cheus  merciful,  and  raging  Paul  as  tame  as  a  lamb." 

Revivals  differ  in  their  beginnings.  Sometimes  the 
preaching  of  a  sermon  ;  not  infrequently  a  Provi- 
dence of  God ;  very  often  the  tidings  of  an  awaken- 
ing in  some  near-by  church  or  community ;  many 
times  the  visit  of  a  pastor  or  evangelist  upon  whose 
ministry  God  has  set  some  special  seal — any  or  all 
of  these  may  be  the  apparent  cause  of  a  real  revival ; 
but  sometimes  there  is  no  accounting  for  it  from  the 
human  standpoint.  There  has  apparently  been  no 
especial  interest.  There  has  been  no  particular  ap- 
peal from  the  pulpit.  There  has  been  no  marked 
concern  on  the  part  of  the  Church.  But  suddenly 
blessings  come,  and  by  the  hundreds  people  are 
saved. 

However,  this  principle  is  always  true,  that  revi- 
vals are  the  result  of  some  special  concern  on  the 


lO  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

I  part  of  the  Church  for  the  unsaved  and  come  as  the 
j  answer  to  prayers  that  have  gone  up  from  burdened 
I  souls  in  behalf  of  the  lost. 

We  have  known  of  cases  where  for  years  the 
prayers  have  seemed  to  be  unanswered  and  the  con- 
cern to  be  of  no  avail ;  but  God  is  always  true  to  his 
word,  and  sooner  or  later  the  answer  will  come. 

Revivals  greatly  differ  in  their  phenomena.  Some- 
times they  progress  with  great  excitement  and  en- 
thusiasm ;  they  are  not  for  this  reason  to  be  under 
suspicion.  At  other  times  the  movement  of  God's 
Spirit  brings  a  hush  upon  the  waiting  assembly,  and 
the  solemnity  of  the  judgment  is  on  the  people. 
Sometimes  He  seems  to  use  the  singing  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  again  He  exalts  far  above  all  other  methods 
the  simple  presentation  of  His  truth  from  the  Book. 
Sometimes  the  lay  element  is  more  prominent ;  again 
the  minister  of  the  Gospel  is  the  leader  of  the  hosts. 
,  It  is  well  for  us  to  learn  that  we  cannot  very  well 
bind  the  Holy  Ghost  with  rules,  and  it  is  always 
true  that  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  there  is 
liberty. 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  from  our 
standpoint  is  this,  that  revivals  are  to  be  encouraged 
because  God  has  ordained  them.  History  has  proven 
them  valuable  to  the  Church.  Our  human  experi- 
ence has  set  the  seal  of  approval  upon  such  a  method 
of  work,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  not  only 
would  our  own  beloved  land  be  greatly  stirred  by  a 
widespread  revival  of  religion,  but  the  heathen  lands, 
which  to-day  seem  strangely  moved  by  the  Spirit  of 


REVIVALS   DEFINED  I  I 

God,  would  respond  quickly  to  the  awakening  inau- 
gurated here,  and  it  is  within  the  range  of  possi- 
bilities that  speedily  the  knowledge  of  God  would 
cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  II 

REVIVALS  IN  AMERICAN  HISTORY 

*  "  A  LITTLE  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  began  what  may  be  called  the  First  Era  of 
Revivals  in  this  country,  part  of  a  religious  move- 
ment that  affected  and  moulded  in  a  most  remarkable 
manner  the  entire  English-speaking  world  for  three- 
quarters  of  a  century.  It  followed  what  may  be  called 
the  skeptical  age  of  English  history,  the  age  of 
Deism.  England  was  just  emerging  from  the  licen- 
tious age  brought  in  by  the  Restoration,  which  the 
influence  of  William  of  Orange  had  not  been  able 
wholly  to  stay,  and  which  the  accession  of  the  House 
of  Brunswick — with  its  German  tastes  and  customs 
and  its  hatred  of  literature,  art  and  refinement,  as 
well  as  its  practical  godlessness — helped  to  continue. 

^'  This  desperate  moral  and  religious  condition 
brought  about  in  due  time  the  great  reaction,  which 
took  on  a  two-fold  character :  that  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  religious  philosophy  and  the  advance  of 
Christian  faith,  and  that  of  a  religious  and  spiritual 
awakening  and  return  to  vital  piety  on  the  part  of 
the  Church  and  people. 

*'  The  reconstruction  of  the  religious  life  of  the 
Church     followed    the    reconstruction    of    religious 


"^  The  Church  in  America  and  its  baptisms  of  fire. 

12 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  1 3 

thought.  The  Great  Awakening  began  and  soon 
spread  over  the  whole  EngHsh  world.  It  took  shape 
in  England  (i)  in  the  Wesleyan  movement,  ulti- 
mately leading  its  adherents  out  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  resulting  in  the  formation  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church  in  its  various  branches,  characterized  by 
Arminian  theology  and  aiming  at  a  return  to  prim- 
itive piety  and  religious  simplicity;  and  (2)  in  that 
eternal  gospel  movement,  the  adherents  of  which  re- 
mained in  the  Church  of  England,  and  which  was 
represented  by  many  eminently  pious  and  godly  men, 
and  resulted  in  the  formation  and  work  of  the  Great 
Church  Missionary  Society  that  has  done  so  much 
toward  evangelizing  the  world." 

"  The  Great  Awakening  in  New  England  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  under  Jonathan  Edwards,  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  religious  movements 
of  modern  times.  It  came  at  the  close  of  the  great 
logical  battle  with  skepticism,  the  aim  of  which  had 
been  the  re-establishment  of  the  authority  of  the 
Bible  as  the  supreme  revelation  from  God.  It  was 
contemporary  with  the  Wesleyan  movement  in  Great 
Britain.  The  skeptical  influences  that  had  been  so 
long  at  work  abroad  had  reached  and  permeated 
New  England  and  had  resulted  in  shaken  faith  in 
the  word  of  God  and  in  general  religious  stupor. 
Jonathan  Edwards  gives  testimony  to  the  -strange 
stupor,  the  marked  insensibility  to  the  greatness  and 
excellence  of  divine  things,  and  the  general  worldli- 
ness  of  the  Church  of  that  day,  in  his  "  Revival  of 
Religion  in  New  England." 

"  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  leader  in  this  religious 


14  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

reaction,  was  equally  eminent  for  logical  acumen, 
theological  learning,  and  spiritual  piety  and  devo- 
tion. It  is  natural,  therefore,  that  when  his  eyes 
were  opened  by  the  grace  of  God  to  see  the  condition 
of  things,  his  efforts  to  bring  about  the  needed 
changes,  by  rousing  men  to  a  sense  of  the  danger  and 
sin  of  their  worldliness  and  stupor,  should  have  been 
put  forth  with  intense  energy  and  directness.  There 
was  need  to  emphasize  the  law  of  God  in  its  divine 
authority  and  its  sacred  sanctions,  in  order  to  *  break 
up  the  fallow  ground '  and  prepare  a  way  for  the 
proper  and  effective  presentation  of  the  gospel  of  sal- 
vation." 

*'  Edwards'  great  theme,  accordingly,  was  the  sov- 
ereignty of  God's  grace  in  the  salvation  of  sinners 
through  justification  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  In 
presenting  this  theme  he  gave  some  of  the  most  pow- 
erful exhibitions  of  man's  depraved  condition,  of  the 
terrors  of  the  divine  law,  and  of  the  lost  condition  of 
sinners  that  have  ever  been  made  in  the  history  of 
the  Christian  Church.  Under  the  first  of  these  sub- 
jects may  be  instanced  such  sermons  as  those  enti- 
tled "  Men's  Natural  Blindness,  in  the  Things  of 
Religion  ;  " — "  Men  Naturally  God's  Enemies  ;  " — 
"  The  Self-Flattery  of  the  Sinners  ;  " — "  Hypocrites 
Deficient  in  the  Duty  of  Prayer."  Under  the  others, 
such  as :  **  The  Final  Judgment ;  or,  the  World 
Judged  Righteously  by  Jesus  Christ ;  " — *'  The  Jus- 
tice of  God  in  the  Damnation  of  Sinners  ;  " — '*  The 
Eternity  of  Hell  Torments ; "  "  Sinners  in  the 
Hands  of  an  Angry  God ;  " — "  Wicked  Men  Use- 
ful in  their  Destruction  only." 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  15 

But  equally  intense  and  powerful  was  Edwards' 
presentation  of  the  grace  of  God  in  salvation.  This 
may  be  seen  in  such  sermons  as  those  entitled : 
"  Justification  by  Faith  alone ;  " — "  The  Wisdom  of 
God  Displayed  in  the  Way  of  Salvation ;  " — "  Great 
Guilt  no  Obstacle  to  the  Pardon  of  the  Returning 
Sinner ;  " — "  The  Peace  which  Christ  gives  His 
True  Followers ;  " — "  God  the  Best  Portion  of  the 
Christian." 

Such  sermons  as  these  naturally  stirred  the  souls 
of  men  to  their  very  depths,  and  sometimes  resulted 
in  remarkable  outward  manifestations  of  feeling,  as 
when,  during  the  preaching  at  Enfield,  of  the  ser- 
mon entitled  "  Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry 
God,"  the  audience  rose  up  in  agony  to  cry  out  for 
mercy." 

"  The  great  religious  awakening  in  New  England, 
of  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  commenced 
in  1734,  in  Northampton,  Mass.,  under  the  ministry 
of  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards,  so  w^ell  known  as  a 
writer  and  the  last  year  of  his  life  as  President  of 
Princeton  College.  Edwards  has  been,  and  is  still, 
regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  that 
this  country  or  the  world  has  produced.  He  was  a 
child-prodig}^  commencing  the  study  of  Latin  when 
but  six  years  old,  and  when  but  ten  years  old  com- 
posing an  essay  in  which  he  ridiculed  the  idea  then 
recently  put  forth  of  the  materiality  of  the  human 
soul.  In  1 7 16,  when  thirteen  years  old,  he  entered 
Yale  College,  graduating  in  1720.  He  was  religiously 
impressed  in  his  early  childhood.  He  was  a  most 
godly  and  devout  man,  with  all  his  greatness  pos- 


1 6  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

sessing  a  sweet,  childlike  disposition.  After  his 
graduation  he  was  tutor  in  Yale  College  for  two 
years,  and  dates  his  conversion  at  about  his  seven- 
teenth year,  after  which  all  nature  seemed  changed." 

"  The  revival,  as  has  already  been  said,  began  at 
Northampton,  but  spread  very  soon  into  other 
towns.  Many,  hearing  of  what  was  taking  place  in 
Northampton,  came  into  the  town  to  see  for  them- 
selves what  was  going  on.  Many  of  these,  not 
knowing  what  to  make  of  it,  ridiculed  the  revival, 
and  said  that  the  effects  of  it  were  from  a  ''  distem- 
per." 

In  his  "  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conversions," 
Edwards  writes : 

"  This  work  of  God,  as  it  was  carried  on  and  the 
number  of  true  saints  multiplied,  soon  made  a  glori- 
ous alteration  in  the  town ;  so  that  in  the  spring 
and  summer  following  anno  1735,  the  town 
seemed  to  be  full  of  the  presence  of  God :  it  never 
was  so  full  of  love  nor  so  full  of  joy ;  and  yet  so  full 
of  distress  as  it  was  then.  There  were  remarkable 
tokens  of  God's  presence  in  almost  every  house.  It 
was  a  time  of  joy  in  families  on  the  account  of  sal- 
vation's being  brought  unto  them ;  parents  rejoicing 
over  their  children  as  newborn,  and  husbands  over 
their  wives,  and  wives  over  their  husbands.  The 
goings  of  God  were  then  seen  in  his  sanctuary,  God's 
day  was  a  delight,  and  his  tabernacles  were  amiable. 
Our  public  assemblies  were  then  beautiful ;  the  con- 
gregation was  alive  in  God's  service,  every  one  earn- 
estly intent  on  the  public  worship,  every  hearer  eager 
to  drink  in  the  words  of  the  minister  as  they  came 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  \^ 

from  his  mouth ;  the  assembly  in  general  were,  from 
time  to  time,  in  tears  while  the  word  was  preached ; 
some  weeping  with  sorrow  and  distress,  others  with 
love  and  joy,  others  with  pity  and  concern  for  the 
souls  of  their  neighbors." 

"  President  Edwards  estimated  that  more,  than 
three  hundred  were  converted  in  six  months  in 
Northampton,  including  persons  of  all  ages  from 
the  child  four  years  old  to  the  man  of  seventy. 
Eighty  were  received  into  the  church  at  one  time, 
and  their  appearance  deeply  affected  the  congrega-' 
tion.  Sixty  more  were  received  at  the  next  com- 
munion." 

*  '*  But  the  great  exponent  of  the  awakening  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  its  chosen  mouthpiece  in  the 
American  colonies  and  among  those  of  the  Calvinis- 
tic  faith  in  the  British  Islands,  was  George  White- 
field,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  preachers  and 
evangelists  of  the  modern  ages.  He  received  his 
training  under  the  same  influences  as  John  Wesley, 
and  was  in  perfect  sympathy  with  him  in  the  general 
spiritual  movement  of  that  day.  In  the  early  portions 
of  their  ministry  they  co-operated  in  the  work  in 
Great  Britain.  Later,  however,  there  came  an  aliena- 
tion and  a  separation  that  greatly  limited  the  useful- 
ness of  Whitefield  in  England,  and  doubtless  had 
much  to  do  providentially  with  his  making  the 
American  colonies  the  chief  scene  of  his  permanent 
work.  The  separation  from  Wesley  was  mainly  on 
the  lines  of  doctrinal  belief,  while  in  the  case  of  the 


*  Memoirs  of  George  IVIiitefield,  by  John  Gillies,  D.  D. 


i8 


REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 


evangelical  workers  who  followed  the  Wesleys  the 
separation  from  those  who  remained  loyal  to  the 
Church  of  England  was  on  the  ground  of  church 
polity.  Whitefield  was  not  possessed  of  Wesley's  or- 
ganizing and  administrative  ability,  but  was  greatly 
his  superior  in  eloquence  and  fervor.  Indeed,  many 
of  those  wh-o  heard  Whitefield  regarded  him  as  the 
most  eloquent  of  men,  and  the  traditions  of  the  re- 
markable effects  produced,  not  only  by  his  sermons 
but  by  the  very  tones  of  his  voice,  are  still  handed 
down.  A  curious  instance,  illustrating  this  feature, 
occurred  many  years  since.  The  forearm  bone  of 
Whitefield's  right  arm  disappeared  from  its  casket 
under  the  pulpit  in  the  old  Federal  Street  Church  in 
Newburyport,  Mass.,  where  he  was  buried.  Many 
months  after  a  box  was  sent  by  express  to  the  au- 
thorities of  the  church  by  some  one  living  in  Great 
Britain.  On  opening  the  box  it  was  found  to  con- 
tain the  missing  forearm  bone  of  Whitefield,  accom- 
panied by  a  note  from  the  man  who  had  sent  the  box. 
In  this  note  he  said  that  he  had  an  intense  desire  to 
possess  this  right  arm  of  the  most  eloquent  man  that 
ever  lived,  and  so  had  taken  it  from  its  receptacle 
and  carried  it  with  him  to  England ;  but  conscience 
had  compelled  him  to  restore  it  to  the  church  and  to 
its  original  place." 

"  His  biographer's  estimate  of  the  place  octupied 
and  the  work  accomplished  by  Whitefield  is  doubt- 
less correct.  He  writes  in  his  introduction  as  fol- 
lows : 

**  No  individual,  in  these  latter  days,  has  so  identi- 
fied hirtiself  with  the  growth  and  spread  of  practical 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  1 9 

religion,   in  England  and  America,  as   Whitefield. 
Divines  and  theologians  there  have  been,  and  still 
are,  and  not  a  few  of  far  greater  depth,  acuteness 
and  comprehension.    They  are  burning  and  shining 
lights,  and  revolved  with  no  rival  or  secondary  glory 
in  their  appointed  spheres.  They  have  done  well,  and 
to  them  be  awarded  all  due  honor  and  praise.  White- 
field  cannot  and  would  not  measure    strength    with 
them  here.    It  was  appointed  to  him  to  preach ;  and 
before  a  crowd  of  drowsy  worldlings,  be  to  him  the 
honor  of  having  no  equal  or  rival  in  the  service  of 
his  Master.    To  compare  Whitefield  with  Edwards 
is  impossible  and  absurd ;  it  is  like  comparing  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  with  Milton  as  intellectual  giants,  or 
the  air  with  the  earth  as  the  conditions  of  animal  ex- 
istence.  Like  his  Master,  *  who  had  a  mountain  for 
his  pulpit,  and  the  heavens  for  his  sounding  board ; 
and  who,  when  his  Gospel  was  refused  by  the  Jews, 
sent  his  servants  into  the  highways  and  hedges ; '  he 
imprisoned  not  his  voice  within  the  bounds  of  eccle- 
siastical limitation,  but  going  forth  into  a  temple  not 
made  with  hands,  he  bore  the  glad  tidings  of  the 
Gospel  as  far  as  the  air  would  reverberate  them,  to 
as  many  of  those  speaking  his  vernacular  tongue  as 
the  measure  of  his  health,  strength  and  years  would 
allow.  Probably  no  one  since  Luther  and  Calvin  has 
been  such  a  chosen  vessel  for  bearing  the  errands  of 
mercy  to  the  multitude ;  no  one  has  been  so  gifted 
with  an  almost  inherent  aptitude  for  converting  his 
very   adversities    and    afflictions    into    instruments, 
without  which  the  very  ends  they  were  intended  to 
frustrate  would  have  been  far  less  successfullv  ac- 


20  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

complished.  In  this  country  especially,  his  name 
will  be  affectionately  and  reverently  referred  to,  as 
having  struck  an  almost  miraculous  life  into  a  leth- 
argic Church,  and  as  having  put  to  shame  the  con- 
temptuous indifference  of  unbelievers.  Under  God, 
he  changed  our  sterile  religious  wastes  into  verdant, 
heavenly  pastures,  and  sowed  on  good  ground  those 
seeds  of  practical  piety  whose  fruits  yet  bless  and  en- 
noble us  in  the  institutions  and  habits  that  have  been 
handed  down  to  us  from  the  religion  of  the  last  gen- 
eration. More  than  any  other  he  is  sacredly  em- 
balmed in  the  religious  remembrances  of  these  peo- 
ple." 

"  George  Whitefield  was  born  at  Bell  Inn,  in  the 
city  of  Gloucester,  England,  on  the  i6th  day  of  De- 
cember, Old  Style,  17 14.  He  was  not  an  exception 
to  the  rule  "  that  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh, 
not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called."  His 
peculiar  endowments  were  those  of  the  preacher,  and 
of  the  preacher  merely,  so  that  his  life  has  little  of 
interest  in  it  except  as  connected  with  his  mission  in 
saving  souls. 

Whitefield's  early  life  was  no  exception  to  the  rule 
that  God  always  prepares  his  special  instruments  for 
their  work  in  his  own  way,  which  is  always  the  best 
way.  A  few  facts  are  of  special  interest.  His  father, 
an  innkeeper,  died  when  George  was  two  years  old ; 
but  his  mother  continuing  to  keep  the  inn,  he  was 
early  made  acquainted  with  the  practical  things  of 
this  life. 

Gifted  with  a  strong  nature,  his  own  subsequent 
confessions    show    that    the    Holy    Spirit    led    him 


REVIVALS   IN   AMERICAN    HISTORY  21 

through  an  experience  calculated  to  develop  in  him 
that  unparalleled  '*  intensity  of  religious  fervor,  en- 
ergy and  decision,"  of  which  his  later  life  gave  proof. 
His  biographers  say  of  his  earlier  experiences: 

'*  Judged  by  the  terrible  scrutiny  of  his  own  se- 
vere standard  of  self-examination  in  after  life,  he 
was  pre-eminently  debased,  and  proved  his  native 
depravity  of  disposition  by  a  series  of  wantonly 
wicked  actions ;  yet  his  conscience  was,  at  this  time, 
tender  enough  to  excite  remorse  and  penitence  for 
his  youthful  freaks,  and  to  render  him  easy  to  be 
affected  by  religious  truth.  He  describes  himself  as 
froward  from  his  mother's  w^omb ;  so  brutish  as  to 
hate  instruction ;  stealing  from  his  mother's  pocket ; 
and  frequently  appropriating  to  his  own  use  the 
money  that  he  took  in  the  house.  '  If  I  trace  myself,' 
he  says,  '  from  my  cradle  to  my  manhood,  I  can  see 
nothing  in  me  but  a  fitness  to  be  damned :  and  if  the 
Almighty  had  not  prevented  me  by  His  grace,  I  had 
now  either  been  sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death  or  condemned,  as  the  due  reward  of 
my  crimes,  to  be  forever  lifting  up  my  eyes  in  tor- 
ments. Yet  Whitefield  could  trace  early  movings  of 
his  heart,  which  satisfied  him  in  after  life  that  God 
loved  him  with  an  everlasting  love,  and  had  separ- 
ated him  even  from  his  mother's  womb,  for  the  work 
to  which  He  afterward  was  pleased  to  call  him. .  He 
had  a  devout  disposition  and  a  tender  heart,  so  far  as 
these  terms  can  fitly  characterize  unregenerate 
men." 

"  He  seemed  to  have  had  a  notion  from  his  early 
childhood  of  becoming  a  minister,  and  would  imitate 


22  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

ministers  in  reading  prayers,  and  in  other  ways.  He 
was  not  without  reHgious  impressions  at  a  very  early 
period,  and  while  employed  in  the  menial  tasks  of 
the  inn,  he  managed  to  write  or  compose  some  ser- 
mons. He  sometimes  spent  a  whole  night  reading 
the  Bible. 

But  Providence  soon  opened  the  way  for  him  to 
enter  Oxford  University.  One  day  a  servitor  of 
Pembroke  College  called  upon  his  mother,  and  in  the 
course  of  conversation  told  her  that  he  had  been 
more  than  able  to  support  himself  at  college  that 
term. 

"  This  will  do  for  my  son,"  she  exclaimed ;  and 
turning  to  him  she  said :  ''  Will  you  go  to  Oxford, 
George?  "  She  secured  the  promises  of  friends  to  se- 
cure the  place  of  a  servitor  for  her  son,  and  then 
sent  him  back  to  the  grammar  school  to  complete  his 
preparation.  He  now  devoted  himself  to  study,  cut 
loose  from  bad  associates,  gave  up  all  evil  and  idle 
courses,  entered  into  the  communion  of  the  church, 
and  led  a  life  of  prayer ;  so  that  when  his  preparation 
for  Oxford  was  completed  he  was  already,  out- 
wardly at  least,  making  religion  the  main  business 
of  his  life. 

At  Oxford,  for  a  year  or  two  after  his  entrance, 
he  was  almost  without  congenial  associates.  It  was 
an  age  of  abounding  and  extreme  impiety  and  cor- 
ruption, and  he  was  harassed  and  tempted  by  his 
godless  associates,  especially  by  his  chamber  fellows, 
who  tried  to  force  him  to  join  them  in  these  riotous 
modes  of  living.  His  persistent  refusal  at  last  made 
them  let  him  alone  to  pursue  his  own  course  in  peace. 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  23 

The  danger  he  saw  he  had  escaped  from  led  him  to 
recognize  and  feel  the  importance  of  a  Christian  life 
as  a  protection  from  the  temptations  surrounding 
him,  and  a  formal  external  reformation  took  place 
which  his  friends  noticed.  By  a  remark  of  one  of 
them,  he  saw  that  they  were  supposing  him  to  have 
reformed  his  inward  as  well  as  his  outward  life,  and 
his  conscience  smote  him  that  it  was  only  an  ex- 
ternal reformation,  and  he  says,  ''  God  deeply  con- 
victed me  of  hypocrisy."  Under  this  conviction  he 
became  prayerful,  fasting  and  attending  to  other  re- 
ligious duties.  At  Oxford  he  steadily  refused  to  join 
in  the  common  revelry,  which  caused  him  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  singular  "  old  fellow."  He  sadly  missed 
the  guidance  and  influence  of  some  intelligent,  faith- 
ful Christian  friend,  and  seemed  to  be  left  alone  to 
find  his  way  out  into  the  light  of  the  spiritual  day. 
He  had  the  Bible ;  but  he  misunderstood  and  misin- 
terpreted it.  After  a  sorrowful  and  lengthy  experi- 
ence, involving  great  suffering  both  bodily  and  men- 
tal so  that  an  illness  of  many  weeks  followed,  he  re- 
mained in  this  sad  plight  until  one  day  he  became 
intensely  thirsty,  and  the  words  of  Christ,  "  I  thirst," 
came  to  him,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  near  the  time 
of  the  close  of  the  Saviour's  sufferings.  He  says, 
I  threw  myself  on  the  bed  and  cried  out,  ''  I  thirst, 
I  thirst ;  "  and  from  this  point  his  burdens  left  him 
and  he  soon  acquired  peace  and  rest." 


CHAPTER  III 

REVIVALS  IN  AMERICAN   HISTORY    (CONTINUED) 

*  "  The  second  Era  of  Revivals  in  this  country 
dates  from  about  1797.  Among  the  honored  leaders 
in  the  earlier  phase  of  the  movement  were  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Dorr  Griffin  and  President  Dwight,  associated 
with  such  men  as  the  elder  Mills.  In  its  later  phase, 
in  what  may  be  called  the  supplement  to  the  Revival 
of  1797,  the  revivalists  Nettleton  and  Finney  were 
prominent." 

It  has  been  said  that  *'  the  great  saving  truth  that 
animated  the  revival  movement  in  the  middle  of  the 
century  was  deliverance  from  sin  and  hell,  by  faith 
in  a  sacrificed  Redeemer;  the  great  truth  that  ani- 
mated the  second  was  the  cordial  recognition  of  God 
as  a  wise,  holy,  blessed,  but  absolute  Sovereign."  In 
its  later  phase  the  idea  of  human  duty  was  added  to 
that  of  divine  sovereignty. 

"  The  representative  revivalists  were  Nettleton 
and  Finney.  Its  doctrinal  basis  was  that  of  submis- 
sion to  God  as  the  Sovereign,  shading  off  into  that 
of  personal  duty  to  God.  The  doctrine  of  the  divine 
sovereignty  had  been  so  perverted  as  to  destroy  the 
sense  of  human  responsibility.    It  was  the  feeling 


*  The  Church  in  America  and  its  baptisms  of  fire. 

24 


REVIVALS   IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  25 

that  nothing-  could  be  done  for  the  advancement  of 
Christ's  kingdom  and  the  conversion  of  sinners  until 
God's  time  came.  "  In  God's  good  time,  the  Spirit 
would  be  poured  out  and  men  would  be  saved."  The 
truth  suited  to  rouse  men  from  this  condition  was 
that  of  the  duty  of  immediate  submission  to  God,  and 
of  loving,  serving,  and  honoring  God.  This  charac- 
terized the  preaching  in  the  revivals.  Its  language 
was :  "  My  son,  give  me  thine  heart."  "  Repent, 
and  turn  yourselves  from  all  your  transgressions." 
The  preacher  cried  sometimes,  "  Give  your  heart  to 
Christ ;  "  sometimes,  "  Throw  down  the  weapons  of 
your  rebellion." 

Second  Phase  of  the  Second  Era  of  Revivals 

"  The  work  of  grace  that  marked  the  second  quar- 
ter of  the  present  century  may  be  regarded,  as  al- 
ready remarked,  as  a  supplement  of  the  first  or 
earlier  phase,  and  as  naturally  following  upon  that 
phase.  The  work  of  the  earlier  phase  was  closely 
connected  with  the  churches  and  church  life,  and 
was  largely  under  the  inspiration  and  guidance  of 
the  settled  ministry.  In  its  later  phase,  however,  it 
had  its  representative  revivalists  in  Asahel  Nettle- 
ton  and  Charles  G.  Finney.  It  came  when  a  few 
years  of  quiet  and  declension  had  elapsed  after  the 
awakening  at  the  opening  of  the  century.  Like  reli- 
gious revivals  generally,  it  appeared  as  a  reaction 
from  the  prevalence  of  grave  evils  and  defects  in  the 
religion  of  the  day.  The  introduction  of  German  ra- 
tionalistic criticism  and  speculation  had  tended  to 


26  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

the  increase  of  skepticism.  The  appHcation  of  ma- 
teriaHstic  and  rationaHstic  methods  to  the  recon- 
struction of  philosophy,  history,  literature,  art  and 
language,  tended  in  the  same  direction.  The  new  ap- 
plication of  steam-power  and  machinery,  in  which 
the  English-speaking  peoples  have  been  the  inven- 
tors and  pioneers,  gave  a  marvelous  development  to 
human  energy  and  achievement,  and  led  to  greatly 
increased  worldliness  and  to  extravagant  views  of 
the  value  of  worldly  possessions.  This,  too,  was 
detrimental  to  vital  piety.  Even  the  organization  of 
the  forces  of  Christianity,  in  the  great  benevolent 
and  missionary  societies,  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  world  at  large  the  truth  and  freedom  of  the  Gos- 
pel along  the  innumerable  lines  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, tended  to  formalism  and  dead  works,  the  out- 
ward form  being  only  too  frequently  allowed  to  take 
the  place  of  the  inward  spiritual  religion.  Formal- 
ism had  thus  largely  superseded  vital  piety  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic." 

*'  The  reaction  toward  religion. — It  is  always  the 
case ;  the  inevitable  reaction  came  out  of  the  evil  con- 
dition of  things.  The  Church  began  to  wake  up  to 
its  own  coldness  and  deadness,  and  to  look  for  deliv- 
erance and  revival.  With  this  sense  of  need  came  a 
looking  to  God  for  help,  and  the  work  of  revival  be- 
gan and  extended  widely,  especially  in  the  churches 
of  this  country." 

**  The  doctrine  especially  made  use  of  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  preaching  at  the  opening  of  this  second 
era  of  revival  was,  as  has  already  been  shown,  the 
doctrine  of  Divine  Sovereignty.    This  doctrine  had 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  1^ 

been  by  many  perverted  into  semi- fatalism.  The 
impenitent  laid  hold  of  it  as  a  pretext  for  continu- 
ance in  sin,  or  as  a  bluff  with  which  to  meet  the 
minister  or  the  layman  who  should  broach  to  them 
the  subject  of  their  personal  salvation :  ''  If  I  am 
to  be  saved,  I  shall  be  saved ;  and  if  I  am  to  be  lost,  I 
shall  be  lost."  It  was  sought  to  shift  the  burden  of 
responsibility  from  conscience  and  place  it  upon  God. 
This  made  necessary  a  change  in  the  preacher's  point 
of  view  and  in  the  Spirit's  application  of  doctrine  to 
the  case  of  impenitent  sinners.  They  must  be  roused 
from  their  slumbers  by  some  word  of  truth  that 
should  be  appropriate  to  their  case,  and  that  the 
Spirit  should  make  "  the  fire  and  the  hammer  "  in 
breaking  the  flinty  heart  of  unbelief." 

"  In  the  preaching  of  this  period,  the  doctrine  of 
the  Sovereignty  of  God  was  still  urged,  but  it  was 
supplemented  and  complemented  by  the  doctrine  of 
Human  Responsibility  and  Duty.  "  Submit  to  God ; 
repent  and  believe  " — this  was  the  two-fold  call,  im- 
plying both  God's  sovereignty  and  man's  responsi- 
bility." 

''  The  tendency  of  a  few  may  have  been — admit- 
tedly was — to  lay  the  greater  stress  upon  the  former 
doctrine,  seeking  to  break  down  the  pride  and  re- 
bellion of  man.  The  aim  of  others — among  whom 
was  Dr.  Nettleton — was  to  hold  the  balance  evenly 
between  the  two,  so  as  to  give  God  his  rightful 
place,  and  at  the  same  time  rouse  the  conscience  and 
quicken  the  sense  of  responsibility.". 

"  Until  a  little  after  the  commencement  of  Rev. 
Charles  G.  Finney's  work  in  western  New  York, 


28  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

Dr.  Asahel  Nettleton  had  attained  a  notoriety  as  an 
evangelist  equal  to  that  enjoyed  by  Mr.  Finney  dur- 
ing his  long  ministry  of  nearly  fifty  years.  Very  un- 
like in  some  respects  they  were,  especially  in  their 
revival  methods ;  but  both  laid  fast  hold  upon  the 
fundamental  truths  of  the  Gospel.  More  than  fifty 
years  since,  a  most  intelligent,  excellent  gentleman, 
an  elder  in  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring's  church,  in  New 
York  City,  speaking  of  Mr.  Finney,  said  that  his 
preaching,  to  him,  bore  a  marked  resemblance  to 
that  of  President  Edwards.  These  three  men,  Ed- 
wards, Nettleton  and  Finney,  were  unquestionably 
Calvinistic  and  their  general  preaching  not  inharmo- 
nious." 

"  Nettleton  was  a  native  of  North  Killingly,  Conn. 
His  father  was  a  farmer.  Asahel  was  born  April  21, 
1783,  the  same  day  on  which  Samuel  J.  Mills  was 
born.  Young  Nettleton  assisted  his  father  on  the 
farm  until  1805,  when  he  entered  college.  His  early 
education  was  in  the  common  school  of  the  district. 
His  youth  was  blameless." 

"'  General  estimate  of  the  man. — Dr.  Nettleton's 
life  was  marvellously  useful  and  helpful.  I  never 
heard  the  opinion  expressed  that  he  was  either  a 
great  or  a  very  learned  man ;  but  ^  never  heard 
those  who  knew  him  intimately  question  his  good- 
ness. He  was  a  most  godly  man,  serious,  circum- 
spect, discreet,  and  gifted  with  rare  discrimination, 
enabling  him  to  know  and  read  men,  and  greatly 
aiding  him  to  adapt  himself  and  his  instructions  to 
men  in  their  various  moods,  with  their  diflPerent 
peculiarities,  prejudices,  conditions,  and  preposses- 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  29 

sions.  He  had  power  to  prevail  with  God  and  man. 
His  rare  success  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  his  great- 
ness, nor  to  his  native  sagacity,  nor  to  the  happy 
combination  of  gifts  constitutional  or  natural,  nor  to 
everything  combined  in  him.  so  much  as  his  holiness. 
He  walked  with  God,  knew  and  trusted  God.  He 
had  a  mighty  faith.  He  found  out  how  much  God 
loved  men,  and  he  was  brought  into  sympathy  with 
God  for  the  salvation  of  men.  His  perception  of  the 
guilt  and  doom  of  sinners  was  intense  and  absorbed 
him.  He  was  a  man  whose  religious  development 
would  lead  him  to  cry  out  while  prostrated  on  the 
cold  ground  at  the  midnight  hour,  ''  Give  me  souls 
or  I  die !  " 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  in  revivals  that  they  fre- 
quently succeed  some  great  calamity.  It  was  so  with 
the  wonderful  work  of  grace  known  as  The  Revival 
of  1859.  The  churches,  to  an  alarming  extent,  were 
characterized  by  indifference  and  conformity  to  the 
world.  Speculation  was  running  rife,  and  men  were 
entering  recklessly  in  the  race  for  riches.  As  a 
natural  result,  frauds  and  failures  were  very  com- 
mon, and  in  a  day  the  most  fanciful  dreams  would 
perish  and  millionaires  would  become  paupers. 

But  God  was  working  in  it  all,  and  as  a  direct  re- 
sult there  was  a  call  sent  forth  to  the  Christians  of 
the  Nation  for  united  prayer,  and  the  result  was  the 
mighty  awakening. 

In  the  upper  lecture  room  of  the  Old  North  Dutch 
Church  in  Fulton  street.  New  York,  a  solitary  man 
was  one  day  kneeling  upon  the  floor  engaged  in 
earnest  and  importunate  prayer.   He  was  just  an  or- 


30  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

dinary  man,  one  who  had  given  himself  very  much 
to  the  helping  of  the  lives  of  others.  Indeed,  he  lived 
almost  wholly  for  other  people.  He  was  without 
.wife  or  children,  and  therefore  gave  all  his  time  to 
going  up  and  down  the  wards  of  the  city  as  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  Old  Church.  Such  a  burden  for  souls 
was  laid  upon  him  as  he  visited  that  he  longed  be- 
yond expression  to  do  something  for  their  salvation. 
He  had  given  away  tracts  without  number.  He 
had  made  an  innumerable  number  of  visits.  But  this 
did  not  seem  to  satisfy  him.  He  longed  for  some- 
thing more  effectual.  So  day  after  day,  many  times 
in  a  day,  he  was  on  his  knees  in  constant  prayer,  cry- 
ing out,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?  " 

He  was  about  forty  years  of  age,  affectionate  in 
his  disposition,  possessed  of  indomitable  energy  and 
perseverance,  gifted  in  prayer,  ardent  in  his  piety, 
sound  in  his  judgment,  having  good  common  sense, 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

At  noon  on  the  23d  day  of  September,  1857,  the 
door  of  the  old  lecture  room  was  thrown  open  for 
prayer.  At  half-past  twelve  o'clock  the  step  of  a 
solitary  individual  was  heard  upon  the  stairs ;  shortly 
after  another,  and  another,  until  six  made  up  the 
whole  company.  Thus  the  Noon-day  Business  Men's 
Prayer-meeting  was  inaugurated. 

The  second  meeting  was  held  a  week  afterwards 
on  Wednesday,  September  30th,  when  twenty  per- 
sons were  present.  There  was  much  prayer,  and  the 
hearts  of  those  persons  were  melted  within  them. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  October  7th,  between 
thirty  and  forty  being  present.    From  this  time  on 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  3^ 

the  numbers  began  to  increase,  until  at  last  there 
were  hundreds  gathered  for  prayer.  The  tide  rose 
higher  from  day  to  day,  until  in  an  almost  incredibly 
short  space  of  time  New  York  was  stirred.  Brook- 
lyn felt  the  touch  of  God's  power.  Philadelphia,  Bos- 
ton, Cincinnati  and  Chicago  were  all  of  them  brought 
under  the  influence  of  the  Great  Revival. 

Its  history  can  never  be  known  perfectly.  It  is 
written  in  Heaven,  and  when  we  stand  there  we 
shall  know  the  full  story. 

No  history  of  revivals  would  be  complete  without 
mentioning  the  one  whose  name  is  a  household  word, 
and  who  has  been  a  blessing  to  Christians  through- 
out the  world,  Mr.  Dwight  L.  Moody. 

"  Mr.  Moody  may  be  regarded  as  being,  in  his  ca- 
reer and  work,  the  representative  of  lay  activity  in 
the  work  of  evangelization — especially  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  as  embodying  and  or- 
ganizing this  activity.  That  Association  has  had 
largely  to  do  with  opening  the  way  for  him  into  the 
various  churches  and  communities,  and  with  awak- 
ening and  sustaining  enthusiasm  in  his  various  evan- 
gelistic enterprises.  The  sympathetic  and  social  ele- 
ment and  the  spirit  of  Christian  union,  so  prominent 
in  the  revival  of  1858,  have  been  marked  features 
and  elements  of  power  in  his  work. 

**  Mr.  Aloody's  work  may  be  roughly  divided  into 
three  distinct  periods.  The  first  and  earlier  period 
was  tentative,  and  largely  influenced  by  the  feeling 
that  grew  out  of  the  revival  of  1858,  that  lay  effort 
was  the  chosen  and  all-sufficient  means  for  the  con- 
version of  the  world,  and  that  the  work  was  to  be 


32  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

done  under  the  inspiration  and  direction  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  One  phase  of 
this  feehng  was  criticized  by  Dr.  Chambers,  in  his 
memorial  volume  on  the  *  Noon-prayer-meeting,'  in 
which  he  records  the  statement  made  in  one  of  the 
meetings  in  the  Consistory  building  by  an  intelli- 
gent gentleman  from  the  interior  of  the  State.  He 
said  that  '  he  considered  that  the  great  power  of  the 
church  for  the  conversion  of  souls  now  consisted  in 
the  union  prayer-meeting  and  the  union  Sunday- 
school.'  Another  phase  of  the  same  feeling  was  ex- 
pressed by  a  young  and  somewhat  immature  orator, 
when,  in  one  of  the  great  national  conventions,  in 
the  height  of  the  enthusiasm,  he  said :  '  The  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  has  come  to  take  reli- 
gion out  of  the  church  and  ventilate  it ! '  The 
method  of  this  earlier  period  was  that  of  the  mass- 
meeting,  under  pressure  of  social  enthusiasm  and 
sympathy. 

"  Mr.  Moody  is  a  wise  man,  and  soon  saw  that  the 
results  he  so  earnestly  desired  could  not  be  secured 
in  this  way — in  short,  that  not  only  could  not  the 
church  be  ignored,  but  that  on  the  contrary  its  forces 
and  organization  must  be  made  the  basis  of  all  suc- 
cessful efforts,  and  particularly  of  all  effort  that  con- 
templated permanent  results.  Hence,  in  the  second 
and  later  period,  the  evangelist  changed  his  method 
and,  abandoning  the  mass-meeting  principle, 
wrought  only  at  the  united  request  of  the  churches 
and  pastors,  and  with  their  organized  co-operation 
looking  to  the  gathering  of  the  fruits  of  revival. 

"  In  the  third  or  present  period  of  Mr.  Moody's 


REVIVALS    IN   AMERICAN    HISTORY  33 

evangelistic  activity  his  work  is  directed  from  the 
educational  center  established  at  Northfield,  Mass. 
Dr.  Finney's  work  reached  its  third  stage  and  cul- 
minated in  the  establishment  of  Oberlin,  to  advance 
his  views  and  champion  the  anti-slavery  movement ; 
Mr.  Moody's  may  be  looked  upon  as  having  taken 
permanent  form  in  the  establishment  of  Northfield, 
not  merely  as  a  center  of  education  for  the  young, 
but  more  than  that,  for  the  inspiration  and  training 
of  Christian  and  missionary  workers,  and  for  rous- 
ing the  ministry  to  a  more  complete  devotion  to  the 
Bible  as  the  Word  of  God,  and  to  the  '  blood-doc- 
trines '  as  the  source  of  evangelical  power  and  suc- 
cess. From  this  point,  where  his  summers  are  spent 
with  many  thousands  of  college  graduates  and  min- 
isters, and  with  the  aid  of  many  of  the  most  earnest 
preachers  and  evangelists  of  the  present  age,  Mr. 
Moody  still  carries  on  his  evangelistic  labors  over 
this  country  during  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

"  In  the  present  sketch  attention  will  be  chiefly 
confined  to  the  evangelist's  early  work  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  and  to  his  later  work  in  the  Chi- 
cago campaign  in  connection  with  the  Columbian 
Exposition. 

"  Dwight  L.  Moody  was  born  at  Northfield, 
Mass.,  February  5,  1837.  His  early  education  was 
limited,  owing  largely  to  lack  of  disposition  to  im- 
prove the  advantages  within  his  reach.  His  parents 
were  Unitarians,  but  '  their  belief  had  no  power  to 
touch  his  heart  or  mold  his  spiritual  nature.'  When 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  was  a  clerk  in  a  shoe-store 
in  Boston,  and  a  member  of  a  class  taught  by  Mr. 


34  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

Edward  Kimball  in  the  Sunday-school  of  Mount 
Vernon  Church.  He  applied  for  admission  to  the 
Church  May  i6,  1855;  but  his  knowledge  of  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Christianity  was  so  defective 
that  he  was  advised  to  delay  making  a  public  profes- 
sion of  his  faith.  After  faithful  instruction  by  his 
Sunday-school  teacher  and  others  he  was  admitted 
to  the  communion  of  the  Church  March  5,  1856.  Dr. 
Rufus  W.  Clark,  in  '  The  Work  of  God  in  Great  Bri- 
tain,' gives  the  following  account  of  his  experience 
immediately  subsequent  to  this: 

"  *  Soon  after  attending  a  church  prayer-meeting, 
feeling  anxious  to  enter  at  once  upon  the  service  of 
his  Master,  he  rose  and  offered  a  few  remarks.  At 
the  close  of  the  meeting  his  pastor  took  him  aside, 
and  kindly  told  him  that  he  had  better  not  attempt 
to  speak  in  the  meetings,  but  might  serve  God  in 
some  other  way.  To  this  he  has  several  times  re- 
ferred in  his  public  addresses.  In  several  instances 
he  met  with  a  similar  rebuke.  The  strongest  im- 
pression that  he  made  upon  many  good  people  was 
that  he  ought  not  to  attempt  public  speaking  at  all, 
and  they  frankly  told  him  so.  One  of  his  dearest 
friends  and  co-workers  informs  me  that  probably 
these  repeated  discouragements  influenced  him  to  re- 
move to  Chicago,  where  there  might  be  a  more  re- 
ceptive field  for  his  labors. 

**  *  Some  months  afterward,  in  September,  1856, 
he  accepted  a  situation  in  a  shoe-store  in  Chicago. 
On  Sunday  he  sought  out  a  Mission  Sunday-school, 
and  offered  his  services  as  a  teacher.  He  was  in- 
formed that  the  school  had  a  full  supply  of  teachers, 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  35 

but  if  he  would  gather  a  class  he  might  occupy  a  seat 
in  the  school-room.  The  next  Sabbath  he  appeared 
with  eighteen  boys,  and  a  place  was  assigned  him 
for  his  new  and  rough  recruits.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  his  mission  to  the  masses.  On  that  day  he 
unfolded  his  theory  of  how  "  to  reach  the  masses — 
go  for  them."  It  will  be  impossible  to  do  more  than 
hint  at  some  of  the  steps  in  his  development  and 
progress.' 

He  soon  after  commenced  the  North  Market  Mis- 
sion School,  in  the  old  Market-hall,  which  in  six 
years  grew  to  over  a  thousand  members. 

**  The  great  revival  of  the  winter  of  1857-58  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation of  Chicago.  The  daily  union  prayer-meet- 
ing, begun  in  January,  1858,  gradually  diminished  in 
numbers  and  was  soon  given  over,  by  the  committee 
having  it  in  charge,  to  the  Association,  which  con- 
tinued it,  often  with  only  three  or  four  present. 
About  this  time  Mr.  Moody  began  attending  the 
meetings,  and  by  his  personal  efforts  induced  more 
than  a  hundred  persons  to  join  the  praying-band. 
Dr.  Clark  records  the  next  step  of  Mr.  Moody,  as 
follows : 

*'  *  About  this  time  he  said  to  a  dear  friend,  who 
had  been  intimately  associated  with  him  in  his  vari- 
ous Christian  labors,  "  I  have  decided  to  give  to  God 
all  my  time."  Previous  to  this  he  had  devoted  his 
evenings  and  Sabbaths,  and  occasionally  a  whole 
day,  to  laboring  for  the  Lord.  His  friend  asked  him 
"  How  he  expected  to  live?  "  He  replied,  "  God  will 
provide  if  He  wishes  me  to  keep  on ;  and  I  will  keep 


36  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

on  until  I  am  obliged  to  stop."  Since  that  day  he  has 
received  no  salary  from  any  individual  or  society; 
but  God  has  supplied  his  wants.'  " 

"  In  1863  his  work  had  attained  to  such  magnitude 
that  a  large  and  commodious  building,  costing 
$20,000,  was  erected  on  Illinois  street.  John  V.  Far- 
well,  the  wealthy  merchant,  at  this  time  gave  Mr. 
Moody  a  house  which  was  handsomely  furnished  by 
other  friends.  The  great  fire  of  October,  1871,  swept 
away  church  and  home  and  all  his  property  save  his 
Bagster  Bible,  which  he  carried  with  him  in  escap- 
ing from  the  flames.  Five  weeks  after  the  fire,  the 
erection  of  '  The  North  Side  Tabernacle,'  on  the 
corner  of  Wells  and  Ontario  streets,  was  begun,  and 
the  structure  completed  in  thirty  days.  From  this 
point  as  a  center  he  continued  to  carry  on  his  work 
until  he  entered  upon  his  larger  work  when  he  went 
abroad  in  1873. 

*'  Mr.  Moody  is  a  man  of  unbounded  energy  and 
capacity  for  work  and  a  born  leader  of  men.  He 
once  said,  *  It  is  better  to  get  ten  men  to  work  than 
for  one  to  do  the  work  of  ten  men.'  He  has  shown 
his  capacity  for  doing  both." 

''  It  was  in  connection  with  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  that  Mr.  Moody  became  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  Sankey,  who  was  to  take  so 
prominent  a  part  in  subsequent  revival  work.  Dr. 
Clark  records  their  meeting  and  its  results : 

" '  At  a  national  convention  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Mr. 
Moody  first  heard  Mr.  Sankey,  and  was  impressed 


REVIVALS    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY  37 

with  the  remarkable  adaptation  of  his  voice  and  style 
of  singing  to  awaken  the  emotions  and  carry  home 
religious  truth  to  the  heart.  On  conferring  together, 
they  found  that  their  love  of  mission  work  and  de- 
sires for  extended  usefulness  were  mutual,  and  they 
agreed  to  labor  together  in  evangelistic  services. 

"  '  For  two  or  three  years  they  were  associated  in 
Chicago ;  and  the  union  of  Mr.  Sankey's  services  of 
song  and  Mr.  Moody's  fervid  expositions  and  ear- 
nest discourses  became  a  new  and  recognized  power 
for  the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom.  They  visited 
other  cities  and  towns,  and  both  constantly  gained  in 
ability  to  deeply  impress  large  assemblies.  God  was 
with  them,  blessing  their  efforts,  and  preparing  them 
for  greater  things  to  come.' 

*'  Some  special  providences  and  experiences  had 
to  do  with  Mr.  Moody's  preparation  for  and  entrance 
upon  his  evangelistic  tour  in  the  British  Islands.  Of 
these  Dr.  Clark  gives  the  following  account : 

'' '  On  the  14th  of  last  February  Mr.  Varley,  the 
British  evangelist,  who  is  called  the  '*  Moody  of 
England,"  was  giving  a  Bible  reading  in  the  City  of 
New  York,  when  he  related  the  following  incident : 
"  On  visiting  at  a  friend's  house  with  Mr.  Moody  in 
England  some  years  ago,  I  said  to  him,  '  It  remains 
for  the  world  to  see  what  the  Lord  can  do  with  a 
man  wholly  consecrated  to  Christ.'  Mr.  Moody  soon 
returned  to  America,  but  those  words  clung  to  him 
with  such  power  that  he  was  induced  to  return  to 
England  and  commence  that  wonderful  series  of  la- 
bors in  Scotland  and  England  in  which  he  is  still  en- 


38  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

gaged.  Mr.  Moody  said  to  me  on  returning  to  Eng- 
land, '  Those  were  the  words  of  the  Lord,  through 
your  Hps  to  my  soul.'  " 

*' '  Some  months  before  his  departure  from  Amer- 
ica, Mr.  Moody  passed  through  a  very  extraordi- 
nary religious  experience.  He  called  upon  a  friend 
of  rare  intellectual  and  spiritual  gifts,  and  as  he  be- 
gan to  speak  he  burst  into  tears.  He  said  that  he 
♦hardly  knew  what  the  Lord  intended  to  do  with  him. 
He  seemed  to  be  "  taking  him  all  to  pieces ;  "  and 
showing  to  him  his  unworthiness  and  feebleness. 
He  could  hardly  describe,  or  even  understand,  the 
peculiar  emotions  that  had  taken  possession  of  him. 

"  '  A  few  days  after  he  made  an  appointment  to 
meet  four  or  five  Christians  for  a  season  of  earnest 
prayer  to  God.  This  friend  being  invited,  on  enter- 
ing the  room,  found  the  little  band  kneeling  in 
prayer  and  all  in  tears.  They  were  pouring  out  their 
earnest  supplications  in  an  agony  of  spirit,  and  could 
not  be  denied  the  guidance,  strength  and  power  they 
sought.  They  asked  for  a  full  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  that  God  would  use  them,  as  He  never 
had  before,  for  His  own  glory  and  for  the  salvation 
of  multitudes  of  perishing  sinners.  We  have  reason 
to  believe  that  at  that  time  Mr.  Moody  received  a 
fresh  and  full  anointing  of  the  Spirit,  and  that  this 
was  the  divine  preparation  in  his  soul  for  the  great 
work  upon  which  all  Christendom  looks  to-day  with 
wonder  and  with  thanksgiving  to  God/  " 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PRrN"CE  OF   MODERN  REVIVALISTS 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  is,  and  al- 
ways has  been,  abundant  criticism  concerning  the 
office  of  the  evangeUst,  and  this  office  is  declared  to 
be  unscriptural,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  it  has  al- 
ways seemed  to  please  God  to  set  His  seal  upon  cer- 
tain men,  and  endow  them  not  only  with  particular 
gifts  along  the  line  of  revival  efifort,  but  also,  in  a 
very  remarkable  way  to  set  His  seal  upon  their  min- 
istry thus  performed. 

It  is  not  in  any  sense  to  the  discredit  of  the  pastor 
of  a  church  that  his  brother  evangelist  possesses 
some  qualifications  with  which  he  may  not  have 
been  endowed ;  nor  does  it  follow  that  because  God 
has  ordained  the  office  of  evangelist  the  pastor  of  a 
Church  is  necessarily  without  such  gifts  as  would 
naturally  belong  to  the  specialist  in  this  work.  For 
to-day  many  of  the  most  successful  revivalists  are  in 
charge  of  Churches,  and  use  their  spare  time  to  go 
abroad  to  other  fields  of  labor. 

Paul  was  the  Prince  of  Evangelists.  For  five  and 
twenty  years  he  travelled  three  times  over  a  great 
part  of  Asia  and  Europe.  At  one  place  he  wintered ; 
at  another  he  spent  a  year  and  a  half ;  at  a  third  two 
whole  years. 

39 


40  REVIVALS    AND    MiSStONS 

Our  Lord  went  from  place  to  place  preaching  and 
performing  His  mighty  works. 

"  Modern  missionaries,  in  the  main,  are  evan- 
gelists ;  so  were  many  of  the  earnest  preachers  of 
early  days.  Whitefield  spent  most  of  his  life  as  an 
evangelist ;  so  did  John  Wesley,  who  rode  horse- 
back a  hundred  thousand  miles  in  his  visits  from 
place  to  place." 

But  no  such  chapter  as  this  would  be  complete  if 
it  did  not  fully  present  the  one  who  is  rightly  styled 

The  Prince  of  Modern  Revivalists 

*  "  Charles  G.  Finney  was  born  in  Warren,  Litch- 
field county.  Conn.,  August  29,  1792,  nine  years 
after  Nettleton  was  born.  We  quote  a  brief  accounj; 
of  his  early  life  and  experiences  from  his  '*  Memoir," 
written  by  himself.  It  explains  many  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  his  later  life  that  otherwise  would  be  in- 
explicable :  " 

"  When  I  was  about  tw^o  years  old,  my  father  re- 
moved to  Oneida  county.  New  York,  which  was  at 
that  time,  to  a  great  extent,  a  wilderness.  No  reli- 
gious privileges  were  enjoyed  by  the  people.  Very 
few  religious  books  were  to  be  had.  The  new  set- 
tlers, being  mostly  from  New  England,  almost  im- 
mediately established  common  schools ;  but  they  had 
among  them  very  little  intelligent  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  I  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  a  common  school, 
summer  and  winter,  until  I  was  fifteen  or  sixteen 


*  Finney's  Autobiography. 


THE   PRINCE   OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  4.1 

years  old,  I  believe ;  and  advanced  so  far  as  to  be 
supposed  capable  of  teaching  a  common  school  my- 
self, as  common  schools  were  then  conducted. 

Irreligious  environinents. — "  My  parents  were 
neither  of  them  professors  of  religion,  and,  I  believe, 
among  our  neighbors  very  few  religious  people.  I 
seldom  heard  a  sermon,  unless  it  was  an  occasional 
one  from  some  travelling  minister,  or  some  miserable 
holding  forth  of  an  ignorant  preacher  who  would 
sometimes  be  found  in  that  country.  I  recollect  very 
well  that  the  ignorance  of  the  preachers  that  I  heard 
was  such  that  the  people  would  return  from  meeting 
and  spend  a  considerable  time  in  irrepressible  laugh- 
ter at  the  strange  mistakes  which  had  been  made  and 
the  absurdities  which  had  been  advanced. 

"  In  the  neighborhood  of  my  father's  residence  we 
had  just  erected  a  meeting-house  and  settled  a  min- 
ister, when  my  father  was  induced  to  remove  again 
into  the  wilderness  skirting  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario,  a  little  south  of  Sackett's  Harbor. 
Here  again  I  lived  for  several  years,  enjoying  no 
better  religious  privileges  than  I  had  in  Oneida 
county. 

''  When  I  was  about  twenty  years  old,  I  returned 
to  Connecticut,  and  from  thence  went  to  New  Jersey, 
near  New  York  City,  and  engaged  in  teaching.  I 
taught  and  studied  as  best  I  could ;  and  twice  re- 
turned to  New  England  and  attended  a  high  school 
for  a  season.  While  attending  the  high  school,  I 
meditated  going  to  Yale  College.  My  preceptor  was 
a  graduate  of  Yale,  but  he  advised  me  not  to  go.  He 
said  it  would  be  a  loss  of  time,  as  I  could  easily  ac- 


42  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

complish-  the  whole  curriculum  of  study  pursued  at 
that  institution  in  two  years ;  whereas  it  would  cost 
me  four  years  to  graduate.  He  presented  such  con- 
siderations as  prevailed  with  me,  and  as  it  resulted,  I 
failed  to  pursue  my  school  education  any  further  at 
that  time.  However,  afterward  I  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew.  But  I  was 
never  a  classical  scholar,  and  never  possessed  so 
much  knowledge  of  the  ancient  languages  as  to 
think  myself  capable  of  independently  criticizing  our 
English  translations  of  the  Bible. 

"  The  teacher  to  whom  I  have  referred  wished  me 
to  join  him  in  conducting  an  academy  in  one  of  the 
Southern  States.  I  was  inclined  to  accept  his  pro- 
posal, with  the  design  of  pursuing  and  completing 
my  studies  under  his  instruction.  But  when  I  in- 
formed my  parents,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  four 
years,  of  my  contemplated  movement  south,  they 
both  came  immediately  after  me  and  prevailed  on  me 
to  go  home  with  them  to  Jefferson  county,  New 
York.  After  making  them  a  visit,  I  concluded  to  en- 
ter, as  a  student,  the  law  office  of  Squire  W ,  at 

Adams,  in  that  county.    This  was  in  1818 

"  When  I  was  teaching  school  in  New  Jersey,  the 
preaching  in  the  neighborhood  was  chiefly  German. 
I  do  not  think  I  heard  half  a  dozen  sermons  in  Eng- 
lish during  my  whole  stay  in  New  Jersey,  which  was 
about  three  years. 

"  Thus  when  I  went  to  Adams  to  study  law,  I  was 
almost  as  ignorant  of  religion  as  a  heathen.  I  had 
been  brought  up  mostly  in  the  woods.  I  had  very  lit- 


THE    PRINCE   OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  43 

tie  regard  for  the    Sabbath,    and  had  no    definite 
knowledge  of  religious  truth. 

Attention  turned  to  religion. — '*  At  Adams,  for 
the  first  time,  I  sat  statedly,  for  a  length  of  time,  un- 
der an  educated  ministry.  Rev.  George  W.  Gale, 
from  Princeton,  N.  J.,  became,  soon  after  I  went 
there,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  that 
place.  His  preaching  was  of  the  old-school  type — 
that  is,  it  was  thoroughly  Calvinistic ;  and  whenever 
he  came  out  with  the  doctrines,  which  he  seldom  did, 
he  would  preach  what  has  been  called  hyper-Calvin- 
ism. 

"  I  had  never,  until  this  time,  lived  where  I  could 
attend  a  stated  prayer-meeting.  As  one  was  held  by 
the  church  near  our  office  every  week,  I  used  to  at- 
tend and  listen  to  the  prayers  as  often  as  I  could  be 
excused  from  business  at  that  hour. 

"  In  studying  elementary  law,  I  found  the  old  au- 
thors frequently  quoting  the  Scriptures,  and  re- 
ferring especially  to  the  Mosaic  institutes  as  author- 
ity for  many  of  the  great  principles  of  common  law. 
This  excited  my  curiosity  so  much  that  I  went  and 
purchased  a  Bible,  the  first  I  had  ever  owned ;  and 
whenever  I  found  a  reference  by  the  law  authors  to 
the  Bible,  I  turned  to  the  passage  and  consulted  it  in 
its  connection.  This  soon  led  to  my  taking  a  new  in- 
terest in  the  Bible,  and  I  read  and  meditated  on  it 
much  more  than  I  had  ever  done  before  in  my  life. 
However,  much  of  it  I  did  not  understand. 

"  But  as  I  read  my  Bible  and  attended  the  prayer- 
meetings,  heard  Mr.  Gale  preach  and  conversed  with 


44  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

him,  with  the  elders  of  the  church  and  with  others 
from  time  to  time,  I  became  very  restless.  A  little 
consideration  convinced  me  that  I  was  by  no  means 
in  a  state  of  mind  to  go  to  heaven  if  I  should  die.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  there  must  be  something  in  re- 
ligion that  was  of  infinite  importance;  and  it  was 
soon  settled-with  me  that  if  the  soul  was  immortal  I 
needed  a  great  change  in  my  inward  state  to  be  pre- 
pared for  happiness  in  heaven.  But  still  my  mind 
was  not  made  up  as  to  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the 
Gospel  and  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  question, 
however,  was  of  too  much  importance  to  allow  me  to 
rest  in  any  uncertainty  on  the  subject. 

"  I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  fact  that  the 
prayers  that  I  had  listened  to  from  week  to-  week 
were  not,  that  I  could  see,  answered.  Indeed,  I  un- 
derstood from  their  utterances  in  prayer,  and  from 
other  remarks  in  their  meetings,  that  those  who  of- 
fered them  did  not  regard  them  as  answered. 

*'  When  I  read  my  Bible  I  learned  what  Christ 
had  said  in  regard  to  prayer,  and  answers  to  prayer. 
He  had  said,  '  Ask  and  ye  shall  receive;  seek  and  ye 
shall  find ;  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you. 
For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he  that 
seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be 
opened.'  I  read  also  what  Christ  affirms,  that  God 
is  more  willing  to  give  His  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  Him  than  earthly  parents  are  to  give  good  gifts 
to  their  children.  I  heard  them  pray  continually  for 
the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  as  often  con- 
fess that  they  did  not  receive  what  they  asked  for. 

"  They  exhorted  each  other  to  wake  up  and  be  en- 


THE    TRINCE    OF    MODERN    R-EVIVALISTS  45 

gaged,  and  to  pray  earnestly  for  a  revival  of  religion, 
asserting  that  if  they  did  their  duty,  prayed  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and  were  in  earnest,  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  would  be  poured  out,  that  they 
would  have  a  revival  of  religion,  and  that  the  impeni- 
tent would  be  converted.  But  in  their  prayer  and 
conference  meetings,  they  would  continually  confess 
substantially  that  they  were  making  no  progress  in 
securing  a  revival  of  religion. 

"  This  inconsistency,  the  fact  that  they  prayed  so 
much  and  were  not  answered,  was  a  sad  stumbling- 
block  to  me.  I  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it.  It  was 
a  question  in  my  mind  whether  I  was  to  understand 
that  these  persons  were  not  truly  Christians,  and 
therefore  did  not  prevail  with  God;  or  did  I  mis- 
understand the  promises  and  teachings  of  the  Bible 
on  the  subject;  or  was  I  to  conclude  that  the  Bible 
was  not  true?  Here  was  something  inexplicable  to 
me ;  and  it  seemed,  at  one  time,  that  it  would  almost 
drive  me  into  skepticism.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible  did  not  at  all  accord  with  the 
facts  which  were  before  my  eyes. 

"  On  one  occasion,  when  I  was  in  one  of  the  prayer 
meetings,  I  was  asked  if  I  did  not  desire  that  they 
should  pray  for  me.  I  told  them  No ;  because  I  did 
not  see  that  God  answered  their  prayers.  I  said  '  I 
suppose  I  need  to  be  prayed  for,  for  I  am  conscious 
that  I  am  a  sinner ;  but  I  do  not  see  that  it  would  do 
any  good  for  you  to  pray  for  me ;  for  you  are  continu- 
ally asking,  but  you  do  not  receive.  You  have  been 
praying  for  a  revival  of  religion  ever  since  I  have 
been  in  Adams,  and  yet  you  have  it  not.   You  have 


46 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


been  praying  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  descend  upon 
yourselves,  and  yet  complaining  of  your  leanness.' 
I  recollect  having  used  this  expression  at  that  time : 
*  You  have  prayed  enough  since  I  have  attended 
these  meetings  to  have  prayed  the  devil  out  of  Adams 
if  there  is  any  virtue  in  your  prayers.  But  here  you 
are  praying  on,  and  complaining  still'  I  was  quite 
in  earnest  in  what  I  said,  and  not  a  little  irritable,  I 
think,  in  consequence  of  my  being  brought  so  con- 
tinually face  to  face  with  the  religious  truth,  which 
was  a  new  state  of  things  to  me. 

"  But  on  further  reading  of  my  Bible,  it  struck  me 
that  the  reason  why  their  prayers  were  not  answered 
was  because  they  did  not  comply  with  the  revealed 
condition  upon  which  God  had  promised  to  answer 
prayers ;  that  they  did  not  pray  in  faith,  in  the  sense 
of  expecting  God  to  give  them  the  things  that  they 
asked  for. 

Roused  to  his  need  of  salvation. — "  This  being 
settled,  I  was  brought  face  to  face  with  the  question 
whether  I  would  accept  Christ  as  presented  in  the 
Gospel,  or  pursue  a  worldly  course  of  life.  At  this 
period,  my  mind,  as  I  have  since  known,  was  so 
much  impressed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  I  could  not 
long  leave  this  question  unsettled,  nor  could  I  long 
hesitate  between  the  two  courses  of  life  presented 
to  me. 

"  On  a  Sabbath  evening,  in  the  autumn  of  1821,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  settle  the  question  of 
my  soul's  salvation  at  once,  that  if  it  were  possible  I 
would  make  my  peace  with  God.  But  as  I  was  very 
busy  in  the  affairs  of  my  office  I  knew  that  without 


THE    PRINCE    OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  47 

great  firmness  of  purpose  I  should  never  effectually 
attend  to  the  subject.  I,  therefore,  then  and  there 
resolved,  as  tar  as  possible,  to  avoid  all  business,  and 
everything  that  would  divert  my  attention,  and  to 
give  myself  wholly  to  the  work  of  securing  the  sal- 
vation of  my  soul.  I  carried  this  resolution  into  exe- 
cution as  thoroughly  as  I  could.  I  was,  however, 
obliged  to  be  a  good  deal  in  the  office.  But  as  the 
providence  of  God  would  have  it,  I  was  not  much 
occupied  either  on  Monday  or  Tuesday,  and  had  op- 
portunity to  read  my  Bible  and  engage  in  prayer 
most  of  the  time. 

'*  But  I  was  very  proud  without  knowing  it.  I 
had  supposed  that  I  had  not  much  regard  for  the 
opinions  of  others,  whether  they  thought  this  or  that 
in  regard  to  myself ;  and  I  had  in  fact  been  quite  sin- 
gular in  attending  the  prayer  meetings,  and  in  the 
degree  of  attention  that  I  had  paid  to  religion  while 
in  Adams.  In  this  respect  I  had  been  so  singular  as 
to  lead  the  church  at  times  to  think  that  I  must  be 
an  anxious  inquirer.  But  I  found,  when  I  had  come 
to  face  the  question,  that  I  was  very  unwilling  to 
have  any  one  know  that  I  was  seeking  the  salvation 
of  my  soul.  When  I  prayed  I  would  only  whisper  my 
prayer,  after  having  stopped  the  keyhole  to  the  door, 
lest  some  one  should  discover  that  I  was  engaged  in 
prayer.  Before  that  time  I  had  my  Bible  lying  on 
the  table  with  the  law  books ;  and  it  never  had  oc- 
curred to  me  to  be  ashamed  of  being  found  reading 
it,  any  more  than  I  should  be  ashamed  of  being 
found  reading  any  of  my  other  books. 
-  "  But  after  I  had  addressed  myself  in  earnest  to 


4^  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

the  subject  of  my  own  salvation,  I  kept  my  Bible,  as 
much  as  I  could,  out  of  sight.  If  I  was  reading  it 
when  anybody  came  in,  I  would  throw  my  law  books 
upon  it,  to  create  the  impression  that  I  had  not  had  it 
in  my  hand.  Instead  of  being  outspoken  and  willing 
to  talk  with  anybody  and  everybody  on  the  subject  as 
before,  I  found  myself  unwilling  to  converse  with 
anybody.  I  did^not  want  to  see  my  minister,  because 
I  did  not  want  to  let  him  know  how  I  felt,  and  I  had 
no  confidence  that  he  would  understand  my  case  and 
give  me  the  direction  that  I  needed.  For  the  same 
reasons  I  avoided  conversation  with  the  elders  of 
the  church,  or  with  any  of  the  Christian  people.  I 
was  ashamed  to  let  them  know  how^  I  felt,  on  the  one 
hand ;  on  the  other,  I  was  afraid  they  would  misdi- 
rect me.   I  felt  myself  shut  up  to  the  Bible. 

"  During  Monday  and  Tuesday  my  convictions  in- 
creased ;  but  still  it  seemed  as  if  my  heart  grew 
harder.  I  could  not  shed  a  tear ;  I  could  not  pray.  I 
had  no  opportunity  to  pray  above  my  breath ;  and 
frequently  I  felt  that  if  I  could  be  alone  where  I 
could  use  my  voice  and  let  myself  out,  I  should  find 
relief  in  prayer.  I  was  shy,  and  avoided,  as  much  as 
I  could,  speaking  to  anybody  on  any  subject.  I  en- 
deavored, however,  to  do  this  in  a  way  that  would 
excite  no  suspicion  in  any  mind  that  I  was  seeking 
the  salvation  of  my  soul. 

"  Tuesday  night  I  had  become  very  nervous ;  and 
in  the  night  a  strange  feeling  came  over  me  as  if  I 
was  about  to  die.  I  knew  that  if  I  did  I  should  sink 
down  to  hell ;  but  I  quieted  myself  as  best  I  could 
until  morning. 


THE   PRINCE   OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  49 

•'  At  an  early  hour  I  started  for  the  office.  But 
just  before  1  arrived  at  the  office  something  seemed 
to  confront  me  with  questions  Hke  this ;  indeed,  it 
seemed  as  if  the  inquiry  was  within  myself,  as  if  an 
inward  voice  said  to  me, '  What  are  you  waiting  for  ? 
Did  you  not  promise  to  give  your  heart  to  God  ?  And 
what  are  you  trying  to  do  ?  Are  you  endeavoring  to 
work  out  a  righteousness  of  your  own  ?  ' 

"  Just  at  this  point  the  whole  question  of  Gospel 
salvation  opened  to  my  mind  in  a  manner  most  mar- 
velous to  me  at  the  time.  I  think  I  then  saw,  as 
clearly  as  I  ever  have  in  my  life,  the  reality  and  ful- 
ness of  the  atonement  of  Christ.  I  saw  that  His  work 
was  a  finished  work ;  and  that,  instead  of  having  or 
needing  any  righteousness,  of  God  through  Christ. 
Gospel  salvation  seemed  to  me  to  be  an  offer  of  some- 
thing to  be  accepted ;  and  that  it  was  full  and  com- 
plete, and  all  that  was  necessary  on  my  part  was  to 
get  my  own  consent  to  give  up  my  sins  and  accept 
Christ.  Salvation,  it  seemed  to  me,  instead  of 
being  a  thing  to  be  wrought  out  by  my  own  works, 
was  a  thing  to  be  found  entirely  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  Who  presented  Himself  before  me  as  my 
God  and  my  Savior. 

"  Without  being  distinctly  aware  of  it,  I  had 
stopped  in  the  street  right  where  the  inward  voice 
seemed  to  arrest  me.  How  long  I  remained  in  that 
position  I  cannot  say.  But  after  this  distinct  revela- 
tion had  stood  for  some  little  time  before  my  mind, 
the  question  seemed  to  be  put,  *  Will  you  accept  it 
now,  to-day?'  I  replied,  *  Yes,  I  will  accept  it  to- 
day, or  I  will  die  in  the  attempt.' 


50  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

"  North  of  the  village,  and  over  a  hill,  lay  a  piece 
of  woods,  in  which  I  was  almost  in  the  daily  habit 
of  walking,  more  or  less,  when  it  was  pleasant 
w^eather.  It  was  now  October,  and  the  time  was  past 
for  my  frequent  walks  there.  Nevertheless,  instead 
of  going  to  my  office,  I  turned  and  bent  my  course 
toward  the  woods,  feeling  that  1  must  be  alone  and 
away  from  air  human  eyes  and  ears,  so  that  I  could 
pour  out  my  prayer  to  God. 

**  But  still  my  pride  must  show  itself.  As  I  went 
over  the  hill,  it  occurred  to  me  that  someone  might 
see  me  and  suppose  that  I  was  going  away  to  pray. 
Yet  probably  there  was  not  a  person  upon  earth  that 
would  have  suspected  such  a  thing  had  he  seen  me 
going.  But  so  great  was  my  pride,  and  so  much  was 
I  possessed  with  the  fear  of  man,  that  I  recollect  that 
I  skulked  along  under  the  fence  till  I  got  so  far  out 
of  sight  that  no  one  from  the  village  could  see  me.  I 
then  penetrated  into  the  woods,  I  should  think  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  went  over  on  to  the  other  side  of 
the  hill,  and  found  a  place  where  some  large  trees 
had  fallen  across  each  other ;  leaving  an  open  space 
between.  There  I  saw  I  could  make  a  kind  of  closet. 
I  crept  into  this  place  and  knelt  down  for  prayef .  As 
I  turned  to  go  up  into  the  woods,  I  recollect  to  have 
said,  '  I  will  give  my  heart  to  God,  or  I  will  never 
come  down  from  there.'  I  recollect  repeating  this  as 
I  went  u[) — '  I  will  give  my  heart  to  God  before  I 
ever  come  down  again.' 

"  But  when  I  attempted  to  pray,  I  found  that  my 
heart  would  not  pray.  I  had  supposed  that  if  I  could 
only  be  where  I  could  speak  aloud,  without  being 


THE   PRINCE   OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  5^ 

overheard,  I  could  pray  freely.  But  lo !  when  I  came 
to  try,  I  was  dumb ;  that  is,  I  had  nothing  to  say  to 
God;  or  at  least  I  could  say  but  a  few  words,  and 
those  without  heart.  In  attempting  to  pray  I  would 
hear  a  rustling  of  the  leaves,  as  I  thought,  and 
would  stop  and  look  up  to  see  if  anybody  were  not 
coming.   This  I  did  several  times. 

"  Finally  I  found  myself  verging  fast  to  despair.  I 
said  to  myself,  '  I  cannot  pray,  my  heart  is  dead  to 
God,  and  will  not  pray.'  I  then  reproached  myself 
for  having  promised  to  give  my  heart  to  God  before 
I  left  the  woods.  When  I  came  to  try  I  found  that 
I  could  not  give  my  heart  to  God.  My  inward  soul 
hung  back,  and  there  was  no  going  out  of  my  heart 
to  God.  I  began  to  feel  deeply  that  it  was  too  late ; 
that  it  must  be  that  I  was  given  up  of  God  and  was 
past  hope. 

"  The  thought  was  pressing  me  of  the  rashness  of 
my  promise,  that  I  would  give  my  heart  to  God  that 
day  or  die  in  the  attempt.  It  seemed  to. me  as  if 
that  was  binding  upon  my  soul,  and  yet  I  was  going 
to  break  my  vow.  A  great  sinking  and  discourage- 
ment came  over  me,  and  I  felt  almost  too  weak  to 
stand  upon  my  knees. 

**  Just  at  that  moment  I  again  thought  I  heard 
someone  approach  me,  and  I  opened  my  eyes  to  see 
whether  it  were  so.  But  right  there  the  revelation 
of  my  pride  of  heart,  as  the  great  difficulty  that  stood 
in  the  way,  was  distinctly  shown  to  me.  An  over- 
whelming sense  of  my  wickedness  in  being  ashamed 
to  have  a  human  being  sec  mc  on  my  knees  before 
God  took  such  a  powerful  possession  of  me  that  I 


52  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

cried  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  and  exclaimed  that  I 
would  not  leave  that  place  if  all  the  men  on  earth 
and  all  the  devils  in  hell  surrounded  me.  '  What !  '  I 
said,  '  such  a  degraded  sinner  as  I  am,  on  my  knees 
confessing  my  sins  to  the  great  and  holy  God,  and 
ashamed  to  have  any  human  being,  and  a  sinner  like 
myself,  find  m.e  on  my  knees  endeavoring  to  make 
my  peace  with  my  offended  God !  '  The  sin  appeared 
awful,  infinite.   It  broke  me  down  before  the  Lord. 

''  Just  at  this  point  this  passage  of  Scripture 
seemed  to  drop  into  my  mind  with  a  flood  of  light: 
'  Then  shall  ye  go  and  pray  unto  me,  and  I  will 
hearken  unto  you.  Then  shall  ye  seek  me  and  find 
me,  when  ye  shall  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart.' 
I  instantly  seized  hold  of  this  with  my  heart.  I  had 
intellectually  believed  the  Bible  before ;  but  never 
had  the  truth  been  in  my  mind  that  faith  w^as  a  vol- 
untary trust  instead  of  an  intellectual  state.  I  was 
as  conscious  as  I  was  of  my  existence  of  trusting  at 
that  moment  in  God's  veracity.  Somehow  I  knew 
that  that  was  a  passage  of  Scripture,  though  I  do 
not  think  that  I  had  ever  read  it.  I  knew  that  it 
was  God's  word,  and  God's  voice,  as  it  were,  that 
spoke  to  me.  I  cried  to  Him,  '  Lord,  I  take  Thee  at 
Thy  word.  Now  Thou  knowest  that  I  do  search  for 
Thee  with  all  mxy  heart,  and  that  I  have  come  here 
to  pray  to  Thee;  and  Thou  hast  promised  to  hear 
me.' 

*'  That  seemed  to  settle  the  question  that  I  could 
then,  that  day,  perform  my  vow.  The  Spirit  seemed 
to  lay  stress  upon  that  idea  in  the  text,  *  When  you 
search  for  me  with  all  your  heart.'    The  question  of 


THE   PRINCE   OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  53 

when — that  is,  of  the  present  time — seemed  to  fall 
heavily  into  my  heart.  I  told  the  Lord  that  I  should 
take  Him  at  His  word ;  that  He  could  not  lie ;  and 
that  therefore  I  was  sure  that  He  heard  my  prayer 
and  that  He  would  be  found  of  me. 

'*  He  then  gave  me  many  other  promises,  both 
from  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  especially 
some  most  precious  promises  respecting  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  I  never  can,  in  words,  make  any  hu- 
man being  understand  how  precious  and  true  those 
promises  appeared  to  me.  I  took  them  one  after  the 
other  as  infallible  truth,  the  assertion  of  God  Who 
could  not  lie.  They  did  not  seem  so  much  to  fall  into 
my  intellect  as  into  my  heart,  to  be  put  within  the 
grasp  of  the  voluntary  powers  of  my  mind ;  and  I 
seized  hold  of  them,  appropriated  them,  and  fastened 
upon  them  with  the  grasp  of  a  drowning  man. 

"  I  continued  thus  to  pray,  and  to  receive  and  ap- 
propriate promises  for  a  long  time — I  know  not 
how  long.  I  prayed  so  long  that  my  mind  became  so 
full  that,  before  I  was  aware  of  it,  I  was  on  my  feet 
and  tripping  up  the  ascent  toward  the  road.  The 
question  of  my  being  converted  had  not  so  much  as 
arisen  to  my  thoughts ;  but  as  I  went  up,  brushing 
through  the  leaves  and  bushes,  I  recollect  saying 
with  great  emphasis,  '  If  I  am  ever  converted,  I  will 
preach  the  Gospel.' 

"  I  soon  reached  the  road  that  led  to  the  village, 
and  began  to  reflect  upon  what  had  passed ;  and  I 
found  that  my  mind  had  become  wonderfully  quiet 
and  peaceful.  I  said  to  myself  'What  is  this?'  I 
must  have  grieved  the  Holy  Ghost  entirely  away.   I 


54  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

have  lost  all  my  conviction.  I  have  not  a  particle  of 
concern  about  my  soul,  and  it  must  be  that  the  Spirit 
has  left  me.'  *  Why !  '  thought  I,  '  I  never  was  so 
far  from  being  concerned  about  my  own  salvation  in 
my  life.' 

"  Then  I  remembered  what  I  said  to  God  while  I 
was  on  my  knees — that  I  had  said  I  would  take  Him 
at  His  word;  and  indeed  I  recollected  a  good  many 
things  that  I  had  said,  and  concluded  that  it  was 
no  wonder  the  Spirit  had  left  me ;  that  for  such  a 
sinner  as  I  was  to  take  hold  of  God's  word  in  that 
way  was  presumption,  if  not  blasphemy.  I  con- 
cluded that  in  my  excitement  I  had  grieved  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  perhaps  committed  the  unpardona- 
ble sin. 

The  coming  of  peace. — "  I  walked  quietly  toward 
the  village ;  and  so  perfectly  was  my  mind  at  rest  that 
it  seemed  as  if  all  nature  listened.  It  was  on  the  loth 
of  October,  and  a  very  pleasant  day.  I  had  gone  into 
the  woods  immediately  after  an  early  breakfast,  and 
when  I  returned  to  the  village  I  found  it  was  din- 
ner time.  Yet  I  had  been  wholly  unconscious  of  the 
time  that  had  passed ;  it  appeared  to  me  that  I  had 
been  gone  from  the  village  but  a  short  time. 

"  But  how  was  I  to  account  for  the  quiet  state  of 
my  mind  ?  I  tried  to  recall  my  conviction,  to  get  rid 
of  the  load  of  sin  under  which  I  had  been  laboring. 
But  all  sense  of  sin,  all  consciousness  of  present  sin 
or  guilt,  had  departed  from  me.  I  said  to  myself, 
'  What  is  this,  that  I  cannot  arouse  any  sense  of 
guilt  in  my  soul,  as  great  a  sinner  as  I  am?  '  I  tried 
in  vain  to  make  myself  anxious  about  my  present 


THE    PRINCE    OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  55 

State,  I  was  so  quiet  and  peaceful  that  I  tried  to  feel 
concerned  about  that,  lest  it  should  be  a  result  of 
my  having  grieved  the  Spirit  away.  But  take  any 
view  of  it  I  would,  I  could  not  be  anxious  at  all 
about  my  soul,  and  about  my  spiritual  state.  The  re- 
pose of  my  mind  was  unspeakably  great.  I  never 
can  describe  it  in  words.  The  thought  of  God  was 
sweet  to  my  mind,  and  the  most  profound  tran- 
quility had  taken  full  possession  oi  me.  This  was  a 
great  mystery;  but  it  did  not  distress  or  perplex 
me. 

"  I  went  to  my  dinner,  but  found  that  I  had  no 
appetite  to  eat.   I  then  went  to  the  office,  and  found 

that  Squire  W had  gone  to  dinner.   I  took  down 

my  bass-viol,  and,  as  I  was  accustomed  to  do,  began 
to  play  and  sing  some- pieces  of  sacred  music.  But 
as  soon  as  I  began  to  sing  those  sacred  words  I  be- 
gan to  weep.  It  seemed  as  if  my  heart  was  all  liquid ; 
and  my  feelings  were  in  such  a  state  that  I  could  not 
hear  my  own  voice  in  singing  without  causing  my 
sensibility  to  overflow.  I  wondered  at  this,  and 
tried  to  suppress  my  tears.  I  put  up  my  instrument 
and  stopped  singing." 

Of  this  experience  in  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  when  left  alone  in  the  office,  he  writes : 

"  All  my  feelings  seemed  to  rise  and  flow  out ;  and 
the  utterance  of  my  heart  was,  '  I  want  to  pour  my 
whole  soul  out  to  God.'  The  rising  of  my  soul  was 
so  great  that  I  rushed  into  the  room  back  of  the  front 
office  to  pray. 

"  There  w^as  no  fire  and  no  light  in  the  room ; 
nevertheless  it  appeared  to  me  as  if  it  were  perfectly 


56  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

light.  As  I  went  in  and  shut  the  door  after  me,  it 
seemed  to  me  as  if  I  met  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  face 
to  face.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  then,  nor  did  it  for 
some  time  afterward,  that  it  was  wholly  a  mental 
state.  On  the  contrary,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  saw 
Him  as  I  would  see  any  other  man.  He  said  noth- 
ing, but  looked-at  me  in  such  a  manner  as  to  break 
me  right  down  at  His  feet.  I  have  always  since  re- 
garded this  as  a  most  remarkable  state  of  mind ;  for 
it  seemed  to  me  a  reality  that  He  stood  before  me, 
and  I  fell  down  at  His  feet  and  poured  out  my  soul 
to  Him.  I  wept  aloud  like  a  child  and  made  such 
confessions  as  I  could  with  my  choked  utterance.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  I  bathed  His  feet  with  my  tears : 
and  yet  I  had  no  distinct  impression  that  I  touched 
Him  that  I  recollect 

"  How  long  I  continued  in  this  state,  with  this 
baptism  continuing  to  roll  over  me  and  through  me, 
I  do  not  know.  But  I  know  it  was  late  in  the  even- 
ing when  a  member  of  my  choir — for  I  was  the 
leader  of  the  choir — came  into  the  office  to  see  me. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  church.  He  found  me  in 
this  state  of  loud  weeping,  and  said  to  me,  '  Mr. 
Finney,  what  ails  you  ? '  I  could  make  no  answer 
for  some  time.  He  then  said,  '  Are  you  in  pain  ?  '  I 
gathered  myself  up  as  best  I  could,  and  replied,  '  No, 
but  so  happy  that  I  cannot  live.' 

Of  his  experience  that  night,  which  was  the  turn- 
ing point  in  his  life,  he  writes : 

"  I  soon  fell  asleep,  but  almost  as  soon  awoke 
again  on  account  of  the  great  flow  of  the  love  of 
God  that  was  in  mv  heart.   I  was  so  filled  with  love 


THE    PRINCE   OF    MODERN    REVIVALISTS  57 

that  I  could  not  sleep.  Soon  I  fell  asleep  again,  and 
awoke  in  the  same  manner.  When  I  awoke  this 
temptation  would  return  upon  me,  and  the  love  that 
seemed  to  be  in  my  heart  would  abate;  but  as  soon 
as  I  was  asleep,  it  was  so  warm  within  me  that  I 
would  immediately  awake.  Thus  I  continued  till, 
late  at  night,  I  obtained  some  sound  repose. 

"  When  I  awoke  in  the  morning,  the  sun  had 
risen  and  was  pouring  a  clear  light  into  my  room. 
Words  cannot  express  the  impression  that  this  sun- 
light made  upon  me.  Instantly  the  baptism  I  had  re- 
ceived the  night  before  returned"  upon  me  in  the 
same  manner.  I  arose  upon  my  knees  in  the  bed  and 
wept  aloud  for  joy,  and  remained  for  some  time  too 
much  overwhelmed  with  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit 
to  do  anything  but  pour  out  my  soul  to  God.  It 
seemed  as  if  this  morning's  baptism  was  accom- 
panied with  a  gentle  reproof,  and  the  Spirit  seemed 
to  say  to  me,  '  Will  you  doubt  ?  Will  you  doubt  ?  '  I 
cried,  '  No !  I  will  not  doubt ;  I  cannot  doubt.'  He 
then  cleared  the  subject  up  so  much  to  my  mind  it 
was  in  fact  impossible  for  me  to  doubt  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  taken  possession  of  my  soul. 

"  In  this  state  I  was  taught  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith  as  a  present  experience.  The  doc- 
trine had  never  taken  any  possession  of  my  mind, 
that  I  had  ever  viewed  it  distinctly  as  a  fundamental 
doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  Indeed,  I  could  now  see  and 
understand  what  was  meant  by  the  passage,'  Being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  I  could  see  that  the  mo- 
ment I  believed,  while  up  in  the  woods,  all  sense  of 


58 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


condemnation  had  entirely  dropped  out  of  my  mind ; 
and  from  that  moment  I  could  not  feel  a  sense  of 
guilt  or  condemnation  by  any  effort  that  I  could 
make.  My  sense  of  guilt  was  gone;  my  sins  were 
gone;  and  I  do  not  think  I  felt  any  more  sense  of 
guilt  than  if  I  never  had  sinned. 

"  This  was  just  the  revelation  I  needed.  I  felt 
myself  justified  by  faith ;  and,  so  far  as  I  could  see, 
I  was  in  a  state  in  which  I  did  not  sin.  Instead  of 
feeling  that  I  was  sinning  all  the  time,  my  heart  was 
so  full  of  love  that  it  overflowed.  My  cup  ran  over 
with  blessing  and  with  love ;  and  I  could  not  feel  that 
I  was  sinning  against  God.  Nor  could  I  recover  the 
least  sense  of  guilt  for  my  past  sins.  Of  this  experi- 
ence I  said  nothing  that  I  recollect  at  the  time  to 
anybody — that  is,  of  this  experience  of  justification," 


CHAPTER  V 

OBJECTIONS  TO  REVIVALS 

We  have  spoken  briefly  in  another  chapter  of  the 
objections  which  naturally  are  raised  to  revivals  of 
religion ;  but  it  may  be  well  to  enumerate  them 
more  at  length  so  that  we  may  be  prepared  to  meet 
such  criticisms,  and,  if  possible,  drive  away  the 
prejudice  which  may  stand  as  a  barrier  in  the  way 
of  the  progress  of  God  and  of  His  kingdom. 

The  first  general  objection  is  that  a  revival  is  a 
time  of  undue  excitement,  and  that  this  is  always  to 
be  avoided  in  religious  work.  With  such  a  state- 
ment as  this  we  must  take  emphatic  issue. 

*  ''  But  is  not  a  storm  preferable  to  a  parching 
drought  ?  The  economy  of  nature  admits  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  fearful  torrents  of  the  rain-brawling  down 
the  mountain  sides,  tearing  up  the  meadows,  and 
leaving  sand  instead  of  fertility  on  the  plain.  Why 
not,  therefore,  object  to  rain?  Doubtless,  on  the 
whole,  the  atmospheric  arrangement  is  a  good  one. 
Let  us  not,  then,  oppose  revivals  because  occasion- 
ally the  religious  impulse  rises  above  the  usual  level, 
and  flows  over  the  ordinarv  channels,  and  does  some 
incidental  mischief.     Better  have  noisy  excitement 


*  Handbook  of  revivals. 

59 


60  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

than  that  the  sterile  wastes  of  worldhness  should  not 
be  transformed  into  fruitful  gardens  of  the  Lord. 
The  greatest  possible  evil  is  a  deadly  insensibility. 
When  the  house  is  on  fire  and  the  family  asleep, 
better  that  they  be  awakened  by  violence  than  con- 
sumed. Better  rouse  them  even  at  the  expense  of  in- 
sanity than  let  them  perish  in  the  flames. 

''  We  must  also  remember  that  the  greatest  and 
best  actions  have  ever  been  performed  in  stages  of 
excited  feeling  and  high  personal  exaltation.  And  it 
is  Dr.  Bushnell,  we  believe,  who  says,  '  If  any  one 
expects  to  carry  on  the  cause  of  salvation  by  a 
steady  rolling  on  the  same  dead  level,  and  fears  con- 
tinually lest  the  axles  wax  hot  and  kindle  into  a 
flame,  he  is  too  timorous  to  hold  the  reins  in  the 
Lord's  chariot.'  " 

It  is  not  thought  an  unwise  thing  that  there  should 
be  times  of  revival,  or  even  of  excitement,  in  busi- 
ness life;  and  we  affirm  that  if  the  preaching  has 
been  faithful  and  the  prayers  have  been  honest,  then 
revivals  ought  to  come  naturally  to  the  Church. 

There  is  hardly  a  church  that  has  not  heard  its 
pastor  pray  that  God  might  pour  out  His  Spirit  upon 
the  community  and  turn  the  people  from  intemper- 
ance, profaneness,  uncleanness  and  worldliness ;  and 
in  our  prayers  we  have  asked  God  for  such  blessings 
as  would  work  the  most  radical  changes  in  society 
and  even  in  our  business  life ;  and  if  God  were  to 
answer  many  of  the  prayers  that  have  been  offered 
we  should  be  in  such  a  time  of  excitement  as  the 
world  has  never  known.  It  would  seem  to  us,  then, 
that  either  we  must  change  our  form  of  prayer,  or 


OBJECTIONS    TO    REVIVALS  6 1 

we  must  not  object  to  excitement  when  the  answer 
comes. 

It  is  also  objected  that  revivals  put  disrespect 
upon  the  cause  of  Christ  and  the  Church  of  Christ; 
for  it  is  said  that  it  is  an  acknowledgment  to  the 
world  that  the  Church  has  backslidden  and  is  there- 
fore out  of  touch  with  her  head.  And  whether  we 
wish  to  acknowledge  it  or  not,  such  certainly  is  the 
fact,  that  in  many  cases  the  Church  has  backslidden ; 
she  is  out  of  touch  with  Christ ;  she  has  lost  power, 
both  with  God  and  with  man ;  and  while  the  best  in- 
stitution in  all  the  world  is  the  Church,  and  he  who 
says  aught  against  her  is  disloyal  to  both  the  Church  ' 
and  to  Christ,  yet  it  will  do  the  cause  no  good  to 
cover  over  her  weakness  and  be  afraid  to  apply  to 
her  the  cure  which  is  ordained  of  God.  There  could 
be  no  greater  blessing  to-day  to  the  Church  or  to 
the  world  than  that  every  denomination  of  every 
name  should  speedily  be  in  the  midst  of  a  glorious 
awakening  or  a  mighty  revival. 

"  Let  us  add  here  the  words  of  Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler : 
*  It  is  made  an  objection  to  revivals  of  religion  that 
they  are  "  mere  temporary  excitements."  True 
enough.  Pentecost  lasted  one  day,  but  that 
one  day  changed  the  moral  face  of  the 
globe.  Luther's  Reformation  work  was  com- 
prised within  a  few  years ;  Europe  and  the 
world  feel  it  to  this  hour.  The  memorable 
revival  of  1857  began  with  a  few  praying  hearts  in 
New  York — it  culminated  in  a  few  weeks ;  its  out- 
ward phenomena  ceased  in  a  twelve-month.  The  in- 
fluence spread  across  the  seas,  and  around  the  globe. 


62 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


Did  the  results  end  with  the  end  of  the  excitement? 
Have  its  converts  all  gone  back  to  unbelief  and  un- 
godliness ?  No !  That  revival  has  its  enduring 
monuments  in  nearly  every  church  on  this  continent. 
Its  history  will  blaze  on  one  of  the  brightest  pages 
of  God's  record-books  which  shall  be  opened  on  the 
day  of  judgment.  Revivals  are  temporary  in  dura- 
tion. This  is  partly  to  be  accounted  for  through 
God's  sovereignty,  and  partly  through  human  im- 
perfection. Revivals  are  commonly  short-lived,  and 
they  often  are  attended  with  a  few  excesses  and 
false  conversions.  But  would  any  sane  man  object 
to  copious  rain  because  it  did  not  continue  to  rain  on 
forever?  Would  he  object  to  it,  either,  because  it 
had  swelled  a  few  streams  into  a  freshet,  and  carried 
ofif  a  few  mill-dams  and  bridges  ?  Shall  we  do  away 
with  steam  power  simply  because  the  boiler  of  the 
'  St.  John  '  exploded  and  blew  a  dozen  human  beings 
into  eternity?  Revivals  are  indeed  attended  with  in- 
cidental dangers;  but  they  are  only  such  as  belong 
to  the  constitution  of  imperfect  human  nature.  They 
are  in  accordance  witL  the  divine  plan.  They  are  in 
harmony  with  church-agency  in  the  best  days  of  the 
church's  history.'" 

They  are  also  objected  to  because  it  is  said  that 
revivals  of  religion  are  always  followed  by  serious 
reaction.  To  which  it  may  be  said  that  this  is  gen- 
erally the  fault  of  the  individual  church.  If  we  feel 
that  when  the  special  meetings  close  the  work  is 
ended,  then  reaction  will  come.  If  we  feel  that  a  re- 
vival is  simply  a  mountain  top  experience  and  then 


OBJECTIONS    TO    REVIVALS  63 

go  down  into  the  valley,  then  serious  results  will 
follow.  But  if  when  once  we  mount  up  on  wings  as 
eagles  and  get  a  glimpse  of  the  heavenly  life,  we 
continue  to  walk  in  fellowship  with  the  Risen  Christ, 
then  one  may  always  be  in  a  revived  spirit,  and  a 
reaction  is  an  impossibility. 

It  is  said  that  revivals  are  to  be  avoided  because 
the  conversions  are  not  of  the  better  sort,  and  that 
people  supposedly  saved  at  such  a  time  easily  drift 
back  again  into  the  world  and  are  lost.  Such  a  state- 
ment can  hardly  be  proven.  It  is  true  that  many  who 
take  a  stand  in  times  of  special  religious  interest 
drift  away  from  their  profession ;  but  the  number  is 
not  correspondingly  greater  than  those  who  drift 
away  after  having  made  a  profession  of  Christ  when 
the  church  was  in  her  normal  condition.  But  if  peo- 
ple are  allowed  to  drift  away  when  once  they  have 
been  touched,  it  is  to  the  shame  of  the  church.  How 
many  times  we  hear  it  said  of  the  fruit  of  revivals, 
"  We  will  see  how  they  hold  out,"  and  if  they  who 
have  been  saved  can  stand  for  six  months  or  a  year 
men  are  quite  disposed  to  believe  in  revivals,  but  if 
they  should  slip  and  fall  after  a  little  season,  we  hear 
them  say,  ''  It  is  just  as  I  expected;  I  never  thought 
they  would  hold  out."  This  is  an  un-Christly  speech 
and  can  never  have  the  approval  of  our  Master. 

We  believe  that  we  are  called  into  the  household 
of  God,  among  other  reasons,  to  help  hold  out  every 
unsaved  soul  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Savior ; 
and  many  a  man  would  be  in  fellowship  with  Christ 
and  in  touch  with  the  Church  if  he  had  been  held  out 


64  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

by  sympathy  and  by  love,  and  been  given  strength 
which  naturally  comes  with  the  word  of  encourage- 
ment and  of  cheer. 

"  In  referring  to  the  great  benefits  which  the 
Presbyterian  churches  of  Philadelphia  have  derived 
from  revivals  in  the  past,  the  Presbyterian  of  that 
city  says :  *  Bvit  are  any  inclined  to  think  that  we 
have  reached  a  stage  to  which  such  things  are  not 
adapted? — especially  that  revivals  belong  to  the  less 
cultivated,  refined,  wealthy,  fashionable  congrega- 
tions? Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  most  intel- 
lectual ministers  of  our  Church  were  converted 
through  revival  services ;  that  in  every  revival  period 
the  ablest  of  judges,  lawyers  and  physicians  in  the 
neighborhood,  are  numbered  among  the  converts ; 
that  our  continued  salvation  is  worked  out  by  awak- 
enings in  our  colleges,  in  connection  with  which, 
through  the  labors  of  talented  and  refined  profes- 
sors, the  intellectual  3^oung  men  of  the  day  are 
brought  into  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  It  is  a 
great  pity  if  any  of  our  people  who  have  risen  in  the 
scale  of  wealth,  and  desire  to  be  considered  especially 
respectable  and  fashionable,  consider  themselves 
above  such  precious  influences,  and  unadvisedly  im- 
agine that  these  are  only  appropriate  to  the  poorer 
and  the  less  pretentious.'  " 

Revivals  are  objected  to  because  they  seem  not  in- 
J^  frequently  to  exalt  the  special  evangelist.  It  is  said 
that  there  is  no  such  distinctive  class  known  to  the 
New  Testament ;  and  it  is  also  said  that  this  is  giv- 
ing countenance  among  the  people  to  the  idea  that 
certain  ministers  on  wheels  have  a  kind  of  monopoly 


OBJECTIONS    TO    REVIVALS  65 

of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  may  command  his  services 
on  call,  and  that  it  is  disturbing  and  dishonoring  to 
the  pastorate.  They  say  that  every  pastor  should  be 
a  revivalist;  should  always  aim  to  be  in  a  revived 
state;  should  preach  revival  sermons,  use  revival 
methods,  and  expect  revival  results.  This  is  a  high 
i^eal,  but  it  is  not  realized  in  fact. 

The  New  Testament  certainly  speaks  of  evange- 
lists, and  while  there  are  men  who  have  dishonored 
the  name  and  brought  the  cause  into  disrepute,  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  God  has  specially  honored  cer- 
tain men  in  this  particular  form  of  work,  and  called 
them  to  be  leaders  of  other  men  along  revival  lines. 

It  is  not  to  the  discredit  of  a  pastor  that  he  is 
without  special  gifts  along  this  line,  and  when  an 
evangelist  has  his  greatest  success  in  winning  souls 
it  is  because  some  faithful  preacher  of  the  Word  has 
gone  before  him  and  laid  the  foundations  deep.  One 
sows  and  the  other  reaps.  But  it  is  likewise  true 
that  the  pastor  himself  is  not  always  revived;  and 
while  there  are  men  to-day  in  the  pulpit  by  the  score 
who  are  skilled  revivalists,  and  their  churches  show 
the  evidence  of  their  close  walking  with  God,  it  is 
also  nevertheless  true  that  the  presence  of  an  evan- 
gelist upon  whose  ministry  God  has  set  his  seal  has 
meant  the  quickening  of  the  Church,  the  arousing  of 
a  community  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  literally  by 
the  hundreds. 

It  is  objected  to-day  that  in  revivals  too  much  ma-     J~" 
chinery  is  used  and  there  is  not  enough  of  depend- 
ence upon  the  Spirit  of  God.  With  this  objection  we 
are  in  much  sympathy ;  and  when  one  exalts  his  ma- 


66 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


chinery  to  such  an  extent  that  the  moving  wheels 
seem  to  hush  the  voice  of  the  Spirit,  then  is  it  most 
emphatically  to  be  avoided  and  discarded.  But  if  one 
may  plan  his  work  carefully,  decide  upon  his  meth- 
ods prayerfully,  and  bring  his  machinery,  if  it  be 
called  such,  and  place  it  all  at  the  feet  of  the  Mas- 
ter, and  ask  Him  to  take  it  and  use  it,  and  if  the 
prominent  thought  in  the  work  is  not  the  machinery, 
but  the  Holy  Ghost  back  of  it  all,  then  there  can  be 
no  dispute  upon  this  question ;  and  that  such  an 
evangelist  campaign  is  possible  we  believe  with  all 
our  heart. 

The  Spirit  of  God  is  not  in  any  way  to  be  bound 
by  rules,  but  we  cannot  believe  that  He  is  in  any  way 
displeased  by  careful  planning  or  thoughtful  meth- 
ods. For  God  is  always  the  God  of  order — and  never 
does  anything  irregularly.  The  planets  move  with 
such  precision  that  you  may  compute  their  move- 
ments to  the  fraction  of  a  second. 


CHAPTER  VI 

INDICATIONS   OF   A   REVIVAL 

There  are  certain  indications  which  will  make  it 
plain  to  the  thoughtful  Christian  that  God  is  on  the 
eve  of  pouring  out  His  Spirit  in  a  more  special  way 
upon  His  people.  It  is  my  purpose  in  this  chapter  to 
suggest  these  indications,  so  that  one  may  not  be  left 
in  ignorance  of  the  approach  of  a  revival. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  used  to  say  that  he  had  no  confi- 
dence in  polished  speech  or  brilliant  literary  effort  to 
bring  about  an  awakening  on  the  part  of  Christians, 
but  that  he  had  all  the  confidence  in  the  world  in 
the  poor  saint  who  could  weep  her  eyes  out  because 
of  the  condition  of  God's  people  and  the  unsaved 
state  of  the  multitudes  about  her. 

A  determination,  therefore,  to  have  a  better  state 
of  things  with  God's  help  is  the  first  and  best  indi- 
cation of  an  awakening.  We  must  desire  it  above  all 
things  else  in  the  world,  or  God  will  withhold  it  from 
us. 

It  is  easy  to  understand,  therefore,  how,  when 
there  is  prejudice  in  the  Church  against  a  revival, 
and  opposition  to  it  on  the  part  of  the  ministry,  how- 
ever small,  that  God  cannot  work  with  power. 

An  eminent  minister    is    quoted  as  saying :    "  I 

67 


68 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


never  had  a  revival  under  my  ministry  without  la- 
boring for  it,  and  expecting  it."  When  there  is 
real  distress  of  soul  because  of  the  condition  of  God's 
people,  there  is  an  indication  of  coming  victory. 
When  Zion  travailed,  she  brought  forth  children; 
and  it  is  a  serious  question  if  any  one  has  ever  been 
converted  wij;hout  the  experience  of  agony  on  the 
part  of  someone  who  is  concerned  for  them. 

The  best  illustration  we  have  of  this  is  our  Savior 
Himself.  His  forgetting  to  eat  at  the  well  near  Sa- 
maria ;  his  bitter  tears  as  He  looked  down  upon 
Jerusalem ;  His  blood-drops  as  He  bowed  in  agony 
in  Gethsemane,  and  His  breaking  heart  upon  Cal- 
vary— all  must  serve  as  a  severe  rebuke  to  the  in- 
difference of  His  people  to  those  who  are  round 
about  them  already  under  condemnation. 

As  a  rule,  another  indication  of  the  coming  revival 
^  is  the  improvement  in  the  j)rayer-meeting  of  the 
Church.  When  there  seems  to  be  a  more  earnest 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the  Church 
to  take  part  in  such  services,  and  when  their  words 
have  that  peculiar  ring  about  them  which  always 
indicates  the  nearness  of  the  Spirit ;  when  tears  are 
seen  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  as  they  listen,  and 
when  the  hearts  of  God's  children  are  melted  with 
the  testimonies  of  those  who  are  saved  and  kept  bv 
His  power — these  all  indicate  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  willingness  of  God  to  pour  Him  out 
with  yet  more  and  more  of  His  fulness.  When  there  is 
a  sense  of  sorrow  in  the  Church  because  of  the  back- 
slidden condition  of  the  few  or  .the  many  in  its  mem- 
bership— this,  too,  is  an  indication  of  the  fact  that 


INDICATIONS    OF    A    REVIVAL  69 

God,  by  His  Spirit,  is  touching  the  hearts  of  his  own 
and  waits,  in  yet  greater  fulness,  to  show  His  power. 

A  thirst  for  the  Word  of  God,  which  leads  indi- 
viduals to  assemble  with  greater  regularity  at  the 
approaching  services,  and  leads  them  to  receive  the 
Word  with  meekness — This,  too,  is  an  indication  of 
God's  working  in  the  Church. 

When  those  who  have  been  at  variance  with  each 
other  seek  to  make  the  wrong  right ;  when  restitu- 
tions are  made  because  of  wrongdoing;  when  re- 
pentance is  practiced,  and  there  is  a  real  turning 
away  from  sin  of  every  sort — these  are  indications 
of  the  approaching  victory. 

When  there  is  real  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  Church 
membership  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  the  indi- 
cations are  growing  all  the  more  favorable. 

There  can  be  nothing  better  said  along  this  line 
than  what  Mr.  Finney  records  in  his  "  Lectures  on 
Revivals  of  Religion :  " 

"  I.  When  the  providence  of  God  indicates  that 
a  revival  is  at  hand.  The  indications  of  God's  provi- 
dence are  sometimes  so  plain  as  to  amount  to  a  reve- 
lation of  his  will.  There  is  a  conspiring  of  events 
to  open  the  way,  a  preparation  of  circumstances  to 
favor  a  revival,  so  that  those  who  are  looking  out 
can  see  that  a  revival  is  at  hand,  just  as  plainly  as 
if  it  had  been  revealed  from  Heaven.  Cases  have  oc- 
curred in  this  country,  where  the  providential  mani- 
festations were  so  plain  that  those  who  are  careful 
observers  felt  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  God  was 
coming  to  pour  out  His  Spirit,  and  grant  a  revival 
of  religion.    There  are  various  ways  for  God  to  in- 


70  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

dicate  His  will  to  a  people — sometimes  by  giving 
them  peculiar  means,  sometimes  by  peculiar  and 
alarming  events,  sometimes  by  remarkably  favoring 
the  employment  of  means,  by  the  weather,  health, 
etc. 

"  2.  When  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  grieves 
and  humbles  and  distresses  Christians.  Sometimes 
Christians  do  not  seem  to  mind  anything  about  the 
wickedness  around  them.  Or  if  they  talk  about  it, 
it  is  in  a  cold  and  callous  and  unfeeling  way,  as  if 
they  despaired  of  a  reformation ;  they  are  disposed  to 
scold  at  sinners — not  to  feel  the  compassion  of  the 
Son  of  God  for  them.  But  sometimes  the  conduct  of 
the  wicked  drives  Christians  to  prayer,  and  breaks 
them  down,  and  makes  them  sorrowful  and  tender- 
hearted, so  that  they  can  weep  day  and  night,  and 
instead  of  scolding  and  reproaching  them,  they  pray 
earnestly  for  them.  Then  you  may  expect  a  revival. 
Sometimes  the  wicked  will  get  up  an  opposition  to 
religion.  And  when  this  drives  Christians  to  their 
knees  in  prayer  to  God,  with  strong  crying  and 
tears,  you  may  be  certain  there  is  going  to  be  a  re- 
vival. The  prevalence  of  wickedness  is  no  evidence 
at  all  that  there  is  not  going  to  be  a  revival.  That  is 
often  God's  time  to  work.  When  the  enemy  cometh 
in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  lifts  up  a  stan- 
dard against  him.  Often  the  first  indication  of  a  re- 
vival is  the  devil's  getting  up  something  new  in  op- 
position. It  will  invariably  have  one  of  two  effects. 
It  will  either  drive  Christians  to  God,  or  it  will  drive 
them  farther  away  from  God,  to  some  carnal  policy 
or  other  that  will  only  make  things  worse.    Fre- 


INDICATIONS    OF    A    REVIVAL  7^ 

quently  the  most  outrageous  wickedness  of  the  un- 
godly is  followed  by  a  revival.  If  Christians  are 
made  to  feel  that  they  have  no  hope  but  in  God,  and 
if  they  have  sufficient  feeling  left  to  care  for  the 
honor  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  the 
impenitent,  there  will  certainly  be  a  revival.  Let  hell 
boil  over  if  it  will,  and  spew  out  as  many  devils  as 
there  are  stones  in  the  pavements,  if  it  only  drives 
Christians  to  God  in  prayer — they  can't  hinder  a  re- 
vival. Let  Satan  get  up  a  row,  and  sound  his  horn 
as  loud  as  he  pleases ;  if  Christians  will  only  be 
humbled  and  pray,  they  shall  soon  see  God's  naked 
arm  in  a  revival  of  religion.  I  have  known  instances 
where  a  revival  has  broken  in  upon  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy,  almost  as  sudden  as  a  clap  of  thunder,  and 
scattered  them — taken  the  very  ring-leaders  as  tro- 
phies, and  broken  up  their  party  in  an  instant. 

"  3.  A  revival  may  be  expected  when  Christians 
have  a  spirit  of  prayer  for  a  revival.  That  is,  when 
they  pray  as  if  their  hearts  were  set  upon  a  revival. 
Sometimes  Christians  are  not  engaged  in  prayer 
for  a  revival,  not  even  when  they  are  warm  in 
prayer.  Their  minds  are  upon  something  else — the 
salvation  of  the  heathen  and  the  like — and  not  for  a 
revival  among  themselves.  But  when  they  feel  the 
want  of  a  revival,  they  pray  for  it ;  they  feel  for  their 
own  families  and  neighborhoods,  and  pray  for  them 
as  if  they  could  not  be  denied.  What  constitutes  a 
spirit  of  prayer?  Is  it  many  prayers  and  warm 
words?  No.  Prayer  is  the  state  of  the  heart.  The 
spirit  of  prayer  is  a  state  of  continual  desire  and 
anxiety  of  mind  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.     It  is 


72  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

something  that  weighs  them  down.  It  is  the  same, 
so  far  as  the  philosophy  of  the  mind  is  concerned, 
as  when  a  man  is  anxious  for  some  worldly  interest. 
A  Christian  who  has  this  spirit  of  prayer  feels  anx- 
ious for  souls.  It  is  the  subject  of  his  thoughts  all 
the  time,  and  makes  him  look  and  act  as  if  he  had  a 
load  on  his  mirid.  He  thinks  of  it  by  day,  and  dreams 
of  it  by  night.  This  is  properly  praying  without 
ceasing.  The  man's  prayers  seem  to  flow  from  his 
heart  liquid  as  water — "  O  Lord,  revive  this 
work."  Sometimes  this  feeling  is  very  deep;  per- 
sons have  been  bowed  down,  so  that  they  could 
neither  stand  nor  sit.  I  can  name  men  in  this  state, 
of  firm  nerves,  who  stand  high  in  character,  who 
have  been  absolutely  crushed  with  grief  for  the  state 
of  sinners.  They  have  had  an  actual  travail  of  soul 
for  sinners,  till  they  were  as  helpless  as  children. 
The  feeling  is  not  always  so  great  as  this,  but  such 
things  are  much  more  common  than  is  supposed.  In 
the  great  revivals  in  1826,  they  were  common.  This 
is  by  no  means  enthusiasm.  It  is  just  what  Paul  felt, 
when  he  says,  "  My  little  children,  of  whom  I  travail 
in  birth."  I  heard  of  a  person  in  this  state,  who 
prayed  for  sinners,  and  finally  got  into  such  a  state 
of  mind  that  she  could  not  live  without  prayer.  She 
could  not  rest  day  nor  night,  unless  there  was  some- 
body praying.  Then  she  would  be  at  ease ;  but  if 
they  ceased,  she  would  shriek  in  agony  till  there  was 
prayer  again.  And  this  continued  for  two  days,  un- 
til she  prevailed  in  prayer,  and  her  soul  was  relieved. 
This  travail  of  soul  is  that  deep  agony  which  persons 
feel  when  they  lay  hold  on  God  for  such  a  blessing, 


INDICATIONS    OF    A    REVIVAL  73 

and  will  not  let  Him  go  till  they  receive  it.  I  do  not 
mean  to  be  understood  that  it  is  essential  to  a  spirit 
of  prayer  that  the  distress  should  be  so  great  as  this. 
But  this  deep,  continual,  earnest  desire  for  the  sal- 
vation of  sinners,  is  what  constitutes  the  spirit  of 
prayer  for  a  revival. 

''  When  this  feeling  exists  in  a  Church,  unless  the 
Spirit  is  grieved  away  by  sin,  there  will  infallibly  be 
a  revival.  This  anxiety  and  distress  increases  till  the 

revival  commences.    A  clergyman  in  W n  told 

me  of  a  revival  among  his  people,  which  commenced 
with  a  zealous  and  devoted  woman  in  the  Church. 
She  became  anxious  about  sinners,  and  went  to 
praying  for  them,  and  she  prayed  and  her  distress  in- 
creased ;  and  she  finally  came  to  her  minister,  and 
talked  with  him,  and  asked  him  to  appoint  an  anx- 
ious meeting,  for  she  felt  that  one  was  needed.  The 
minister  put  her  ofif,  for  he  felt  nothing  of  it.  The 
next  week  she  came  again,  and  besought  him  to  ap- 
point an  anxious  meeting ;  she  knew  there  would  be 
somebody  to  come,  for  she  felt  as  if  God  was  going 
to  pour  out  His  Spirit.  He  put  her  off  again.  And 
finally  she  said  to  him,  ''  If  you  don't  appoint  an 
anxious  meeting  I  shall  die,  for  there  is  certainly 
going  to  be  a  revival."  The  next  Sabbath  he  ap- 
pointed a  meeting,  and  said  that  if  there  were  any 
who  wished  to  converse  with  him  about  the  salvation 
of  their  souls,  he  would  meet  them  on  such  an  even- 
ing. He  did  not  know  of  one,  but  when  he  went  to 
the  place,  to  his  astonishment  he  found  a  large  num- 
ber of  anxious  inquirers.  Now  don't  you  think  that 
woman  knew  there  was  going  to  be  a  revival  ?   Call 


74  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

it  what  you  please,  a  new  revelation  or  an  old  revela- 
tion, or  anything  else.  I  say  it  was  the  Spirit  of  God 
that  taught  that  praying  woman  there  was  going  to 
be  a  revival.  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  "  was  with 
her,  and  she  knew  it.  She  knew  God  had  been  in  her 
heart,  and  filled  it  so  full  that  she  could  contain  no 
longer. 

"  Sometimes  ministers  have  had  this  distress 
about  their  congregations,  so  that  they  felt  as  if 
they  could  not  live  unless  they  could  see  a  revival. 
Sometimes  elders  and  deacons,  or  private  members 
of  a  Church,  men  or  women,  have  the  spirit  of 
prayer  for  a  revival  of  religion,  so  that  they  will 
hold  on  and  prevail  with  God,  till  He  pours  out  His 
Spirit.  The  first  ray  of  light  that  broke  in  upon  the 
midnight  which  rested  on  the  churches  in  Oneida 
county,  in  the  fall  of  1825,  was  from  a  woman  in 
feeble  health,  who,  I  believe,  had  never  been  in  a 
powerful  revival.  Her  soul  was  exercised  about  sin- 
ners. She  was  in  an  agony  for  the  land.  She  did 
not  know  what  ailed  her,  but  she  kept  praying  more 
and  more,  till  it  seemed  as  if  her  agony  would  de- 
stroy her  body.  At  length  she  became  full  of  joy, 
and  exclaimed,  *  God  has  come !  God  has  come ! 
There  is  no  mistake  about  it,  the  work  is  begun,  and 
is  going  over  all  the  region.'  And  sure  enough,  the 
work  began,  and  her  family  were  almost  all  con- 
verted, and  the  work  spread  all  over  that  part  of  the 
country.  Now,  do  you  think  that  woman  was  de- 
ceived? I  tell  you,  no.  She  knew  she  had  prevailed 
with  God  in  prayer.    She  had  travailed  in  birth  for 


INDICATIONS   OF   A   REVIVAL  J^ 

souls,  and  she  knew  it.    This  was  not  the  only  in- 
stance, by  many,  that  I  knew  in  that  region. 

''  Generally,  there  are  but  few  professors  of  reli- 
gion that  know  anything  about  this  spirit  of  prayer 
which  prevails  with  God.  I  have  been  amazed  to  see 
such  accounts  as  are  often  published  about  revivals, 
as  if  the  revival  had  come  without  any  cause — no- 
body knew  why  or  wherefore.  I  have  sometimes  in- 
quired into  such  cases ;  when  it  had  been  given  out 
that  nobody  knew  anything  about  it  until  one  Sab- 
bath they  saw  in  the  face  of  the  congregation  that 
God  was  there;  or  they  saw  it  in  their  conference 
room  or  prayer  meeting,  and  were  astonished  at  the 
mysterious  sovereignty  of  God,  in  bringing  in  a  re- 
vival without  any  apparent  connection  with  means. 
Now  mark  me.  Go  and  inquire  among  the  obscure 
members  of  the  church,  and  you  will  always  find  that 
somebody  had  been  praying  for  a  revival,  and  was 
expecting  it — some  man  or  woman  had  been  agoniz- 
ing in  prayer,  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  until  they 
gained  the  blessing.  It  may  have  found  the  minister 
and  the  body  of  the  Church  fast  asleep,  and  they 
would  wake  up  all  of  a  sudden,  like  a  man  just  rub- 
bing his  eyes  open,  and  running  round  the  room 
pushing  things  over,  and  wondering  where  all  this 
excitement  came  from.  But  though  few  knew  it, 
you  may  be  sure  there  has  been  somebody  on  the 
watch-tower,  constant  in  prayer  till  the  blessing 
came.  Generally,  a  revival  is  more  or  less  extensive, 
as  there  are  more  or  less  persons  who  have  the  spirit 
of  prayer.    But  I  will  not  dwell  on  this  subject  any 


76 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


further  at  present,  as  the  subject  of  prayer  will  come 
up  again  in  this  course  of  lectures. 

"  4.     Another  sign  that  a  revival  may  be  expected 
is  when  the  attention  of  ministers  is  especially  di- 
rected to    this    particular  object,    and    when    their 
preaching  and  other  efforts  are  aimed  particularly 
for  the  conversion  of  sinners.    Most  of  the  time  the 
labors  of  ministers  are,  it  would  seem,  directed  to 
other  objects.    They  seem  to  preach  and  labor  with 
no  particular  design  to  effect  the  immediate  conver- 
sion of  sinners.    And  then  it  need  not  be  expected 
that  there  will  be  a  revival  under  their  preaching. 
There  never  will  be  a  revival  till  somebody  makes 
particular  efforts  for  this  end.    But  when  the  atten- 
tion of  a  minister  is  directed  to  the  state  of  the  fami- 
lies in  his  congregation,  and  his  heart  is  full  of  feel- 
ing of  the  necessity  of  a  revival,  and  when  he  puts 
forth  the  proper  efforts  for  this  end,  then  you  may 
be  prepared  to  expect  a  revival.   As  I  explained  last 
week,  the  connection  between  the  right  use  of  means 
for  a  revival,  and  a  revival,  is  as  philosophically  sure 
as  between  the  right  use  of  means  to  raise  grain,  and 
a  crop  of  wheat.  I  believe,  in?  fact,  it  is  more  certain, 
and  that  there  are  fewer  instances  of  failure.    The 
effect  is  more  certain  to  follow.    Probably  the  law 
connecting  cause  and  effect  is  more  undeviating  in 
spiritual  than  in  natural  things,  and  so  there  are 
fewer  exceptions,  as  I  have  before  said.    The  para- 
mount importance  of  spiritual  things  makes  it  rea- 
sonable that  it  should  be  so.    Take  the  Bible,  the 
nature  of  the  case,  and  the  history  of  the  church,  all 
together,  and  you  will  find  fewer  failures  in  the  use 


INDICATIONS   OF   A   REVIVAL  T^ 

of  means  for  a  revival  than  in  farming  or  any  other 
worldly  business.  In  worldly  business  there  are 
sometimes  cases  where  counteracting  causes  anni- 
hilate all  a  man  can  do.  In  raising  grain,  for  in- 
stance, there  are  cases  which  are  beyond  the  control 
of  man,  such  as  drought,  hard  winter,  worms,  and  so 
on.  So  in  laboring  to  promote  a  revival,  there  may 
things  occur  to  counteract  it,  something  or  other 
turning  up  to  divert  the  public  attention  from  reli- 
gion, which  may  baffle  every  effort.  But  I  believe 
there  are  fewer  such  cases  in  the  moral  than  in  the 
natural  world.  I  have  seldom  seen  an  individual  fail, 
when  he  used  the  means  for  promoting  a  revival  in 
earnest,  in  the  manner  pointed  out  in  the  word  of 
God.  I  believe  a  man  may  enter  on  the  work  of  pro- 
moting a  revival  with  as  reasonable  an  expectation 
of  success  as  he  can  enter  on  any  other  work  with  an 
expectation  of  success ;  with  the  same  expectation  as 
the  farmer  has  of  a  crop  when  he  sows  his  grain.  I 
have  sometimes  seen  this  tried  and  succeed  under 
circumstances  the  most  forbidding  that  can  be  con- 
ceived. 

"  The  great  revival  in  Rochester  began  under  the 
most  disadvantageous  circumstances  that  could  well 
be  imagined.  It  seemed  as  though  Satan  had  inter- 
posed every  possible  obstacle  to  a  revival.  The  three 
Churches  were  at  variance ;  one  had  no  minister, 
one  was  divided  about  their  minister,  and  they  were 
just  going  to  have  a  trial  before  the  Presbytery  be- 
tween an  elder  and  the  other  minister.  After  the 
work  began,  one  of  the  first  things  was,  the  great 
stone  church  gave  way,  and  created  a  panic.   Then, 


jS  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

one  of  the  Churches  went  on  and  dismissed  their 
minister  right  in  the  midst  of  it.  Another  church 
nearly  broke  down.  Many  other  things  occurred,  so 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  devil  was  determined  to  di- 
vert the  public  attention  from  the  subject  of  religion. 
But  there  were  a  few  remarkable  cases  of  the  spirit 
of  prayer,  which  assured  us  that  God  was  there,  and 
we  went  on ;  and  the  more  Satan  opposed,  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  lifted  up  the  standard  higher  and  higher, 
till  finally  a  wave  of  salvation  rolled  over  the 
place." 

"  Finally,  Conviction  of  sinners  in  considerable 
numbers  indicates  the  beginning  of  a  revival.  Some- 
times the  change  in  this  respect  is  very  gradual ;  and 
for  a  considerable  time  nothing  more  can  be  said 
than  that  there  is  a  more  listening  ear,  and  a  more 
serious  aspect  than  usual  under  the  preaching  of  the 
word ;  and  this  increased  attention  is  gradually  ma- 
tured into  deep  solemnity  and  pungent  conviction. 
In  other  cases,  the  reigning  lethargy  is  suddenly 
broken  up,  as  if  there  had  come  a  thunderbolt  from 
eternity;  and  multitudes  are  heard  simultaneously 
inquiring  what  they  shall  do  to  be  saved. 

*'  Some  of  the  foregoing  views  are  confirmed  in 
a  sentence  from  Dr.  Humphrey's  Letters  to  his  Son ; 
which  is  here  reproduced :  '  Favorable  indications 
may  pass  away  as  the  morning  cloud  and  the  early 
dew.  I  have  myself  experienced  several  such  alter- 
nations of  hope  and  discouragement  before  the  revi- 
val actually  came.  There  are,  however,  signs  and  evi- 
dences on  which  you  may  rely.  If  there  are  great 
searchings  of  heart  in  the  Church ;  if  old  hopes  are 


INDICATIONS  OF  A  REV^IVAL  79 

shaken ;  if  differences  of  long  standing  are  healed 
by  mutual  confessions ;  if  Christians  are  remarkably 
humble  and  prayerful;  if  they  speak  often  one  to 
another,  and  if  their  bowels  yearn  over  the  impeni- 
tent, then  is  a  revival  begun.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  it.  And  when  in  connection  with  such  a  state  of 
things  in  the  church,  sinners  in  considerable  num- 
bers are  awakened,  when  you  find  here  and  there 
cases  of  genuine  conviction,  and  some  individuals 
giving  striking  evidence  that  they  have  been  born 
again,  you  need  not  doubt  that  a  real  work  of  grace 
has  commenced  in  the  congregation  as  well  as  in  the 
church.  But  even  then  you  should  guard  against  ex- 
pressing yourself  too  sanguinely  when  you  speak  of 
the  subject,  and  should  exhort  the  Church  to  '  re- 
joice with  trembling.'  It  is  not  certain  that  because 
God  has  begun  to  revive  His  work,  He  will  carr\'  it 
on ;  that  because  a  few  have  been  converted,  many 
more  will  be.  The  Holy  Spirit  may  be  grieved  and 
may  depart  ere  you  have  sung  out  your  first  song." 


CHAPTER  VII 

PREPARING  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

As  the  farmer  tills  the  ground,  sows  the  seed  and 
cultivates  the  growing  vegetation,  so  are  we  obliged 
to  make  preparation  for  a  genuine  work  of  grace ; 
and,  as  a  rule,  the  preparation  must  begin  in  the 
heart  of  the  pastor  himself. 

Thou  must  be  true  thyself 

If  thou  the  truth  wouldst  teach; 

Thy  soul  must  overflow 
If  thou  another  soul  wouldst  reach.    ' 

It  needs  the  overflow  of  heart 
To  give  the  lips  full  speech. 

It  will  do  little  good  to  bemoan  the  deadness  of 
the  Church,  and  cry  out  against  the  worldliness  of 
the  people,  if  there  be  coldness  in  the  heart  of  God's 
chosen  leader.  No  searching  sermons  will  avail 
much,  and  no  words  of  rebuke  will  have  much 
weight,  if  the  heart  of  him  be  wrong  who  is  set  as  the 
leader  of  the  hosts.  And  if  this  be  right,  then  let  the 
following  steps  be  taken : 

I.  Realize  to  a  certainty  that  God  wants  to  visit 
His  people,  and  pour  out  upon  them  the  power  of 
His  Spirit. 

80 


PREPARING    FOR   A    REVIVAL 


8i 


2.  Intensely  desire  the  awakening  of  the  Church. 
When  the  Son  of  God  found  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
He  forgot  both  to  eat  and  to  drink  in  His  intense 
longing  that  she  might  hear  the  truth.  Such  a  spirit 
as  this  must  possess  us  to-day  if  we  would  have  the 
victory.  Indeed  we  must  be  like  Jeremiah,  in  the  Old 
Testament,  with  rivers  of  water  running  down  his 
face,  and  like  Paul,  in  the  New  Testament,  willing 
to  be  accursed  from  Christ  for  his  kinsmen,  if  we 
would  have  a  Pentecostal  season  of  blessing.  Such 
experiences  have  come  to  men,  and  they  may  visit 
us  to-day. 

*  "  On  one  occasion,"  Rev.  Dr.  Griffinsays,*'I  felt 
that  Jesus  w^as  passing  by,  and  that  we  were  to  have 
110  blessing.  I  went  to  the  Church  crying  *  only, 
only,  only,  from  God.'  During  the  service  I  scarcely 
looked  at  the  people.  I  felt  that  whether  we  had  a 
revival  was  to  be  settled  only  in  heaven.  I  felt  that 
I  was  taking  leave  of  some  of  my  people.  I  came 
near  falling.  Of  the  one  hundred  souls  converted  in 
that  revival,  between  forty  and  fifty  were  convicted 
on  that  day." 

An  earnest  young  clergyman  tells  us  that  he  was 
so  filled  with  desire  that  he  exclaimed,  *'  Lord,  kill 
me  if  you  do  not  give  me  a  revival !  "  He  adds :  "  On 
the  next  Sunday  my  sermons  were  full  of  fire.  I 
preached  every  night  in  the  week.  Monday  night  I 
called  for  inquirers.  Again  I  called  on  Tuesday 
night.  Nobody  stayed.  Wednesday  night  one  poor, 
ignorant,  ill-clad    servant    girl    stayed.     Then    old 


*  Revivals,  how  and  when. 


82  RI-:\-lVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

Adam  said  to  me :  *  Umph !  There  is  your  sickle 
full.'  ^ly  second  thought  was,  God  is  here;  and  a 
tide  came  over  me  like  the  return  of  the  Red  Sea, 
and  it  swallowed  my  wicked  pride  as  that  sea  swal- 
lowed Pharaoh ;  and  I  said,  *  I  would  work  a  thou- 
sand years  to  give  one  such  soul  to  Christ ; '  and  that 
spirit  gave  me  success."  And  that  spirit  will  give 
any  Church  or'minister  success. 

With  these  conditions  met,  call  the  officers  of  the 
church  together,  and  pour  out  before  them  the  long- 
ings of  your  soul.  Call  them  to  a  season  of  prayer, 
and  lay  hold  together  upon  God  for  victory.  In- 
crease the  number  of  those  waiting  before  God  from 
the  faithful  few  of  the  church  knowing  how  to  pray. 
Then  summon  your  young  people  round  about 
you,  and  let  them  see  that  your  soul  is  on  fire 
with  zeal  for  other  souls.  Map  out  some  special 
work,  and  lay  your  well-defined  plans  before  the 
men  of  your  congregation,  specially  invited  to  meet* 
you  for  counsel.  And  with  these  steps  taken  you  are 
now  ready,  in  the  most  tender  way,  after  the  most 
solemn  manner,  to  proclaim  to  the  Church  the  deep- 
est truths  of  God  concerning  worldliness,  sin  and 
disloyalty  to  Christ.  Your  truth  cannot  be  too 
searching.   Your  appeals  cannot  be  too  earnest. 

With  such  a  campaign  thus  planned,  a  whole 
church  could  easily  be  moved,  and  one  church  on  fire 
might  mean  the  salvation  of  a  city. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  METHOD  OF  WORK 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  not  to  be  bound  by  rules,  as 
we  have  already  said ;  but  it  certainly  cannot  be  dis- 
pleasing to  Him  to  have  a  well-defined  plan  and  as 
nearly  as  possible  a  perfect  organization. 

If  the  work  should  be  union  in  character,  I  do  not 
know  of  any  better  suggestions  to  be  made  to  those 
organizing  for  the  campaign  than  these  which  fol- 
low, and  which  have  the  merit  at  least  of  having 
been  tried  and  proved,  and  having,  we  believe,  the 
seal  of  God's  approval  set  upon  them. 

If  the  work  should  be  carried  on  in  a  single 
Church,  with  some  modifications,  the  same  sugges- 
tions could  be  used,  particularly  those  applying  to 
ushers  and  assistants. 

It  would  be  far  easier  to  lead  people  to  decide  for 
Christ  and  connect  themselves  with  the  church  if 
some  such  system  were  adopted  in  almost  every 
Church  for  a  part  of  the  season  at  least. 

The  suggestions  are  submitted  much  as  they 
would  go  out  to  a  community  seeking  the  presence 
of  an  evangelist  to  carry  on  revival  work, 

83 


84  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

To  the  Pastors 

Dear  Brethren: 

I  need  not  say  that  the  benefit  your  Church  will 
receive  in  our  coming  united  effort  depends  largely 
upon  you.  I  have  always  found  that  the  pastor  re- 
ceives the  greatest  share  of  the  blessing  who  makes 
the  greatest  sacrifice  for  the  work  and  enters  into  it 
most  heartily.  Permit  me  to  say  that  my  greatest 
desire  in  coming  to  your  city  is  to  lead  souls  to 
Christ ;  but  no  word  of  mine  shall  for  a  moment 
draw  the  attention  of  the  people  from  the  pastors  of 
the  Churches.  They  are  the  real  *'  soul  winners." 

May  I  not  count  on  you  for  the  most  thorough 
preparation  of  your  own  people?  Work  as  if  every- 
thing depended  upon  you.  In  addition  to  the  union 
preparation  of  the  people,  may  I  suggest,  out  of  my 
own  experience,  the  wisdom  of  your  having  a  month 
of  preparation  in  your  own  Church,  using  your  Sun- 
day evening  services,  and  your  prayer  meeting  ad- 
dresses for  this  end  ?  For  the  former  take  such  sub- 
jects as  these: 

I.  Confessing  sin.  2.  Personal  consecration. 
3.  Our  responsibility  for  the  unsaved.  4.  What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? 

For  the  latter  take  such  as  these : 

I.  Revivals  in  history.  2.  How  may  we  pro- 
mote a  revival  ?  3.  Hindrances  to  revivals.  4.  Are 
we  ready? 

I  wish  very  much  to  make  it  plain  to  you  that  I  do 
not  count  every  one  who  may  sign  the  inquirer's 
card  a  convert.  They  may  be  (for  one  could  accept 
Christ  in  so  simple  a  manner  as  this),  and  in  many 
cases  they  are,  but  if  they  are  not,  they  are  in  a  posi- 
tion where  they  may  be  easily  won.  In  this  way  the 
pastor  is  the  one  whom  God  has  used  to  lead  the 
seeker  into  light,  and  his  influence  is  exalted  rather 


THE   METHOD   OF   WORK  85 

than  that  of  the  evangeHst.  In  my  own  pastoral  ex- 
perience I  was  able  to  reach  nine  out  of  ten  of  all 
who  had  signed  the  cards. 

Praying  for  a  great  blessing  on  our  labors  to- 
gether and  asking  you  to  pray  for  us  that  we  may 
come  to  you  with  all  the  "  fulness  of  the  Spirit,"  I 
am 

Yours  in  the  Master's  service, 
J.  Wilbur  Chapman. 

The  Inquire fs  Card 

It  has  been  much  abused  and  misunderstood ;  as  a 
pastor  I  found  it  worked  admirably  if  I  considered 
it  simply  a  request  from  someone  for  me  to  call  upon 
them  and  talk  about  their  soul's  interests.  It  was 
zvorthless  if  I  considered  it  in  every  case  an  out  and 
out  decision.    The  card  I  have  used  reads  like  this : 

I   have  an  honest  desire  henceforth  to  live  a 
Christian  life. 

I  am  willing  to  follow  any  light  God  may  give 
me. 

I  ask  the  people  of  God  to  pray  for  me. 

Name 

Residence 

Church  or  pastor  preferred 

Usher's  name 

This  year  I  intend  to  use  in  addition  a  card  which 
is  really  a  committal.  This  is  a  sample : 

I  do  now  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  my  personal 
Savior. 

I  will  make  an  honest  effort  to  follow  Him 
always. 

Name 

Residence 

Church  preference 


86  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


General  Preparation  for  the  Work 

The  cities  best  prepared  have  always  yielded  the 
greatest  harvest.  Too  great  care  cannot  be  taken  in 
this  respect.  I  hope  the  following  plan  may  be 
adopted ;  it  is  the  best  I  have  ever  known.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  description  of  the  preparation  at  Jack- 
sonville, 111.,  written  by  Rev.  A.  B.  Morey,  D.  D. : 

Six  months  before  Dr.  Chapman  came  we  started 
a  Union  Bible  Class,  taught  by  the  several  pastors. 
We  followed  the  Sunday-school  lessons,  in  order  to 
arouse  and  enlist  the  teachers  in  the  coming  cam- 
paign and  prepare  them  to  act  as  pioneers  in  this 
aggressive  undertaking.  This  study  of  the  Bible 
brought  together  some  of  our  best  equipped 
Christians  and  made  them  acquainted  with  each 
other,  on  the  best  of  meeting  places,  God's  Word  for 
God's  work.  The  very  first  effort  to  prepare  our- 
selves to  push  forward  our  church  work  was  to 
quicken  and  enlarge  our  faith,  to  awaken  our  ex- 
pectations, and  to  stir  our  souls  to  go  out  in  search 
of  the  lost. 

We  then  went  to  work  to  see  what  we  could  do 
with  what  we  already  knew,  three  months  before 
Dr.  Chapman  was  expected.  The  city  was  divided 
into  districts,  with  a  supervisor  over  each  district. 
From  fifteen  to  twenty  visitors  were  assigned  to 
each  supervisor,  who  were  given  from  ten  to  fifteen 
houses  to  look  after.  The  visitors  went  as  friends, 
not  as  canvassers.  They  established  a  friendly  rela- 
tion with  the  strangers  and  those  who  did  not  belong 


THE    METHOD    OF    WORK 


87 


to  any  church  and  with  the  poor  who  needed  help. 
They  came  together  occasionally  to  report  what  they 
had  done  and  seen.  The  result  was  a  revelation.  A 
state  of  spiritual  destitution  was  uncovered  in  our 
church-going  city,  which  we  had  not  dreamed  of 
and  could  scarcely  believe.  But  in  discovering  the 
destitution,  we  found  we  had  broken  through  the 
barriers  that  blocked  the  way  to  reaching  and  reme- 
dying it.  Prejudice,  began  to  melt  away  as  the  out- 
siders saw  us  interested  in  them.  The  churches 
sprang  to  the  rescue  in  hearty  co-operation.  The 
coming  union  meetings  became  the  town  talk. 

Our  next  move  was  to  start  a  union  prayer-meet- 
ing every  Sabbath  afternoon  in  one  of  the  churches, 
and  a  neighborhood  meeting  in  each  district  every 
Friday  evening.  The  supervisors  arranged  for  the 
places  and  leaders  and  the  visitors  invited  the  fami-i 
lies  under  their  care.  These  prayer-meetings  struck 
at  once  the  foundation  of  all  our  preparation,  deep, 
earnest,  honest  praying.  The  result  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  revival.  Families  that  never  spoke  to 
each  other  met  in  each  other's  houses  to  talk  of  their 
mutual  interests.  Church  members  who  never  dared 
to  speak  in  public,  sang  and  spoke  freely  in  their 
own  homes.  Our  prayer  meetings  began  to  fill  up 
and  to  speak  with  new  tongues.  Our  Sabbath 
schools  began  to  show  new  life.  Our  Sabbath  con- 
gregations became  recruiting  stations,  rallying 
points  for  active  service.  Conversions  followed  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  before  we  expected  it.  we 
were  realizing  what  we  believed,  that  God  waits  to 
save. 


88  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 


Suggestions 

Let  each  church  appoint  from  one  to  three  repre- 
sentatives on  a  general  committee  so  as  to  make  the 
entire  number  not  far  from  fifteen ;  unless  the  unit- 
ing churches  namber  more  than  fifteen  in  which  case 
let  each  church  have  one  representative.  Let  all  the 
active  pastors  be  ex  officio  members  of  this  general 
committee,  though  none  of  them  need  necessarily 
be  appointed  on  any  sub-committee  but  the  execu- 
tive. 

After  selecting  a  chairman  and  secretary,  appoint 
a  nominating  committee  of  one  from  each  denomi- 
nation represented.  Let  them  retire  at  once  and  re- 
port the  names  for  membership  on  the  executive 
committee,  as  follows:  If  not  more  than  five 
churches  are  co-operating,  a  pastor  and  layman  from 
each  church.  If  there  are  between  five  and  twelve 
churches,  one  pastor  or  one  layman  from  each 
church.  If  more  than  twelve  churches  are  repre- 
sented, twelve  men  selected  with  reference  to  the 
various  denominations  and  their  relative  strength, 
as  represented  in  the  general  committee. 

When  the  nominating  committee  has  made  this 
report,  let  the  general  committee  adjourn  to  a  fixed 
date,  and  the  executive  committee  commence  its  first 
session  at  once.  The  chairman  and  secretary  of  the 
general  committee  are  to  be  ex  officio  chairman  and 
secretary  of  the  executive  committee.  Let  the  execu- 
tive committee  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of 
the  susfsrestions  to  them  hereinafter  contained,  so  as 


THE   METHOD   OF    WORK 


89 


to  be  ready  to  make  a  report  at  the  adjourned  meet- 
ing of  the  general  committee.  In  the  meantime  let 
the  nominating  committee  carefully  consider  and 
appoint  the  best  men  in  any  of  the  churches  for 

1.  The  Committee  on  Finance.   Three  members. 

2.  The  Committee  on  Advertising.  Four  mem- 
bers. 

3.  The  Committee  on  Canvassing.  Five  mem- 
bers. 

4.  The  Committee  on  Music.   Three  members. 

5.  The  Committee  on  Ushers.    Three  members. 

6.  The  Devotional  Committee.  Three  members. 
(Select  this  committee  from  members  of  the  execu- 
tive committee.) 

7.  The  Committee  on  the  Free  Will  Offering. 
Five  members.  Let  the  chairman  be  the  chairman 
of  the  executive  committee,  the  other  members  to  be 
laymen.  This  committee  need  not  be  appointed  until 
after  my  arrival. 

l^^Please  read  all  suggestions  to  all  commit- 
tees. 

I.  To  Executive  Committee 

You  are  to  supervise  and  supplement  the  work  of 
all  the  committees,  besides  making  all  arrangements 
as  to  the  place  and  time  of  meetings,  etc.  After  we 
come,  the  meetings  will  be  held  afternoon  and  even- 
ing, Saturday  afternoons  and  evenings  excepted,  ex- 
cept as  announced  hereafter.  Put  the  hour  of  the 
afternoon  service  at  the  time  which  will  accommo- 
date the  greatest  number  of  your  people,  not  later 


90  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

than  half  past  three  o'clock.  Let  the  evening  service 
commence  at  the  earliest  practicable  hour.  Hold  the 
meetings  in  the  most  conveniently  arranged  and  lo- 
cated church.  We  do  not  favor  a  hall  or  rink  to 
commence  in,  except  where  all  the  churches  are  in- 
conveniently located  or  arranged,  or  where  you  feel 
confident  that  ,the  largest  church  will  prove  too 
small. 

Read  over  all  the  suggestions  to  the  other  commit- 
tees, and  be  sure  that  they  attend  to  their  duties  as 
outlined  therein.  You  have  power  to  make  altera- 
tions in  the  membership  of  these  committees  as  may 
seem  wise  to  you,  or  fill  vacancies  that  may  occur. 
Give  particular  attention  to  the  committee  on  ushers 
and  assistants. 

Have  a  list  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  your 
committees  printed  in  convenient  form  for  the 
pocket  as  soon  as  possible,  and  furnish  these  lists  to 
all  the  pastors,  and  to  every  member  of  every  com- 
mittee, and  mail  several  of  them  to  us. 

i^^Please  read  all  suggestions  to  all  commit- 
tees. 

2.  To  Committee  on  Finance 

You  are  expected  to  receive  and  pay  the  bills  pre- 
sented by  the  other  commitcees.  Arrange  for  your 
local  incidental  expenses : 

First,  by  assessments  on  the  churches  concerned, 
in  proportion  to  size  and  financial  strength,  or, 

Second,  by  private  subscriptions  before  the  meet- 
ings commence.    This  is  most  important. 


THE    METHOD    OF    WORK  9 1 

These  plans  are  desirable  in  the  order  specified. 
This  fund  will  pay  all  expenses  of  the  various  com- 
mittees, and  our  travelling  expenses  and  hotel  bills. 

3.  To  Committee  on  Advertising 

I.  Do  not  state  anywhere  how  long  the  meetings 
will  continue. 

II.  Make  announcements  for  only  a  few  days  at 
a  time ;  never  more  than  a  week. 

III.  Enlist  editors  and  reporters  of  all  your 
newspapers.  Furnish  them  matter  to  awaken  public 
attention  for  two  or  three  months  previous  to  the 
commencement  of  the  meetings. 

See  that  reporters  attend  all  the  services  and  make 
comfortable  provision  for  them.  Furnish  complete 
notices  for  every  day  to  all  the  papers. 

IV.  Have  an  attractive  sign  board  in  front  of 
every  church,  united  in  the  work.  Bulletin  boards 
the  size  of  a  large  newspaper  would  answer.  These 
ought  also  to  be  placed  in  prominent  places  about  the 
city. 

Banners  on  the  street  cars  or  across  the  street  are 
sometimes  helpful  to  convey  information. 

I  would  prefer  that  the  meetings  be  not  advertised 
as  "  Chapman  Meetings."  The  following  may  be  a 
good  sample : 


92  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


DR.  CHAPMAN 

SPEAKS   TO-DAY. 

3.30  First  M.  E.  Church. 
7.45  The  Opera  House. 


Union 

Evangelistic  Meetings 

To-day. 


DR.  CHAPMAN   SPEAKS. 


COME. 


4.  To  the  Committee  on  Canvassing 

Divide  your  region  into  districts,  and  have  effi- 
cient canvassers  visit  every  house  and  store  and  fac- 
tory and  office.  They  would  better  carry  visiting 
cards,  which  you  may  have  printed,  leaving  a  space 
for  the  names  to  be  written. 

This  should  be  done  the  week  before  the  meetings 


THE   METHOD   OF   WORK  93 

commence.   I  need  not  say  that  you  should  get  effi- 
cient workers  to  do  this. 
This  is  a  good  sample: 


UNION  EVANGELISTIC  MEETINGS, 
Beginning  May  24th, 


Conducted  by 
Rev.  J.  WILBUR  CHAPMAN,  D.D. 

Music  led  by   Mr.  P.  P.   Bilhorn,  assisted  by  a  Chorus 

Choir. 
Services  : 

At  3.30  P.M.— At  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

At  8.00  P.M.— At  the  Methodist  Church. 


YOU  ARE  CORDIALLY  INVITED. 


This  work  is  practically  the  same  as  described  in 
the  '*  Preparation  for  the  General  Work,"  and  the 
supervisors  may  compose  the  committee. 

During  the  last  week  of  the  meetings  this  com- 
mittee may  be  used  to  take  a  religious  census  of  the 
city,  so  in  the  original  plan  make  it  large  with  this 
in  mind. 


94  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

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:     .      :       How 
:     :     :      child 
:     :     :       Sund 

••■•••••••/• 

5. 


To  the  Committee  on  Music 


Form  a  large  union  choir  of  as  many  good  voices 
as  are  obtainable,  and  have  them  commence  to  prac- 
tice at  once.  Select  a  good  leader  to  drill  the  choir, 
and  engage  a  good  organist  to  be  present  at  all  the 
meetings.  Keep  the  same  organist  for  all  the  ser- 
vices. Erect  a  platform  in  the  building  where  the 
services  are  held  sufficiently  large  to  hold  all  the 
members  of  the  choir,  and  let  them  be  grouped 
closely  about  Mr.  Bilhorn  and  myself. 

After  I  come,  Mr.  Bilhorn  will  take  entire  charge 
of  the  choir. 

It  would  be  well  to  have  an  agreement  with  mem- 
bers of  the  choir  to  attend  the  evening  meetings,  and 
furnish  them  with  ribbon  badges,  about  six  inches 


THE    METHOD   OF    WORK 


95 


in  length,  like  the  sample  below,    numbered    con- 
secutively, also  number  the  chairs  used  by  the  choir. 


This  will  answer  for  a  ticket  of  admission. 


To  Devotional  Committee 


Arrange  tor  the  place  of  meeting  for  the  after- 
noon service ;  do  not  begin  in  the  largest  church ; 
generally  I  have  found  3  130  to  be  the  best  hour,  al- 
though you  must  use  your  own  judgment  as  to  this. 

Please  plan  for  a  prayer  meeting  for  the  women 
to  precede  this  preaching  service.  It  ought  to  com- 
mence forty-five  minutes  before  my  service  and  be 
held  in  the  lecture  room  where  the  afternoon  preach- 
ing service  is  held,  to  close  five  minutes  before  the 
time  for  the  general  services.  (You  may  put  this  in 
charge  of  a  separate  committee  of  ladies,  selected  by 
you,  if  you  judge  best.) 

Arrange  for  as  many  Union  Preparatory  meet- 
ings as  may  be  expedient ;  the  more  thorough  the 
preparation  the  greater  the  blessing.  For  two  weeks 
before  I  come  the  churches  should  meet  together  for 


9^  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

worship,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Sunday,  and 
the  evening  set  apart  for  the  regular  church  prayer 
meeting. 

You  will  find  some  suggestions  under  the  head  of 
^'  Preparation  for  the  General  Work ;  "  follow  them 
closely. 

7.  Free  Will  Offering  Committee 

The  chairman  of  the  executive  committee*  to  be 

chairman,  four  laymen  to  serve  with  him.    Please 

confer  with  me  at  your  convenience  after  my  arrival. 

^^^Please  read  all  suggestions  to  all  commit- 
tees. 

8.  To  Committee  on  Ushers  and  Assistants 

USHERS. 

Your  position  is  one  of  great  importance,  and 
much  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  meetings  will  de- 
pend on  your  careful  fulfillment  of  the  following 
suggestions : 

Officers  in  the  Ushers'  Association 

Chief  Usher — Who  has  the  superintendence  of  all 
the  work  in  the  building  during  the  meetings,  and 
has  charge  of  assistant  chief  ushers,  aisle  ushers, 
and  doorkeepers. 

Assistant  Chief  Usher — Who  has  charge  of  a  cer- 
tain number  of  ushers  and  assistants.    The  number 


THE    METHOD   OF   WORK  97 

of  assistant  chief  ushers  to  be  regulated  according  to 
the  size  of  the  building. 

Aisle  Usher — Whose  duty  it  is  to  aid  in  showing 
the  people  to  the  front  of  the  building — to  do  per- 
sonal work  with  those  standing  near  the  door,  and 
to  collect  from  the  ushers  and  assistants  the  cards 
signed  by  inquirers. 

Doorkeeper — Whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the 
doors  are  opened  at  the  time  announced.  To  collect 
tickets  at  all  services  where  tickets  are  used,  and  to 
see  that  people  do  not  pass  out  of  the  building  dur- 
ing service,  except  in  case  of  sickness.  The  doors 
are  to  be  kept  closed  during  the  singing  of  Mr.  Bil- 
horn's  solo,  and  during  prayer.  The  number  of 
doorkeepers  to  be  regulated  by  the  size  of  the  build- 
ing.  One  of  the  number  to  be  chief  doorkeeper. 

Regarding  the  number  of  ushers ^  you  would  bet- 
ter have  one  for  every  fifty  or  sixty  people  zvho  can 
be  seated  in  the  building  where  the  meetings  are  to 
be  held. 

Please  do  not  vary  from  these  suggestions  in  any 
particular,  as  in  the  past  there  has  been  more  em- 
barrassment from  having  inefficient  ushers  than 
from  any  other  one  cause,  in  the  conduct  of  the 
meetings  elsewhere. 

I  will  meet  the  ushers  for  a  conference  at  the  close 
of  the  first  evening  meeting.  Please  be  sure  that  all 
are  present,  whether  on  duty  that  evening  or  not. 

The  great  object  in  appointing  so  carefully  the 
ushers  and  assistants  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that, 
first,  through  the  ushers,  I  desire  to  have  the  audi- 
ence properly  seated,  and  after  that  through  them  I 


98  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

may  keep  control  of  the  audience  in  the  minutest  de- 
tails ;  secondly,  through  the  ushers  and  assistants,  at 
a  certain  stage  in  the  meeting,  I  desire  to  present 
a  personal  invitation  to  every  person  in  the  audience 
to  receive  Jesus  Christ  as  a  Savior,  and  then  through 
them  to  place  the  inquirer's  card  in  every  hand. 


Badges 


Have  ribbon  badges  prepared  for  chief  usher,  as- 
sistant chief  ushers,  aisle  ushers,  doorkeepers.  Ush- 
ers and  assistants,  with  the  name  of  their  office 
printed  on  them. 

Opening  of  Doors,  etc. 

The  doors  will  be  opened  half  an  hour  before  the 
hour  advertised  for  the  service,  except  in  case  of  a 
storm.  It  is  very  important  that  ushers  and  assist- 
ants should  be  on  duty  at  least  fifteen  minutes  be- 
fore the  doors  are  opened.  The  assistants  will  be  of 
no  use  unless  they  are  in  their  seats  when  the  doors 
are  opened,  as,  frequently,  the  entire  main  floor  will 
be  filled  within  three  or  four  minutes  from  the  time 
of  the  opening  of  the  doors. 

Seating 

The  ushers  will  stand  at  the  rear  of  their  sections, 
and  direct  people  forward.  Do  not  seat  any  one  in 
any  section  until  the  sections  in  the  front  are  filled. 
Do  not  ask  people  where  they  would  like  to  sit ;  di- 


THE    METHOD    OF    WORK  99 

rect  them  where  you  want  them  to  go,  and  expect 
them  to  follow  your  directions.  The  usher  is  ex- 
pected to  take  his  seat  as  soon  as  his  section  is  filled, 
and  remain  in  his  section  throughout  the  entire  ser- 
vice, unless  the  section  w^here  he  is  located  is  vacated 
for  the  after-meeting,  or  he  is  assigned  to  other  du- 
ties by  one  of  the  chief  ushers.  In  case  of  large 
crowds  so  that  people  have  to  stand  in  the  aisles, 
look  over  your  section  carefully,  and  see  that  as 
many  people  are  in  each  seat  as  can  be  accommo- 
dated in  it.  When  Mr.  Bilhorn  is  singing,  also 
after  the  text  has  been  announced  and  the  sermon 
commenced,  do  not  seat  any  one,  except  when  there 
may  be  seats  vacant  at  the  rear  of  the  building. 

Ventilation 

Every  usher  should  be  familiar  with  the  working 
of  windows  and  doors  in  his  section,  and  if  they 
will  not  readily  and  noiselessly  open  and  close  re- 
port the  fact,  so  that  they  may  be  fixed.  It  is  ex- 
ceedingly important  that  we  have  good  air.  Open  or 
close  windows  or  ventilators  only  upon  instruction 
from  the  platform,  or  from  the  chief  usher. 

Assistants 

The  very  best  and  most  consecrated  people  you 
have  should  be  selected  for  assistants.  They  should 
be  of  the  caliber  of  Sunday-school  teachers.  They 
will  be  in  a  position  where  they  can  be  marvellously 


lOO  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

used  in  the  service  of  God,  aiul  the  importance  of 
their  chities  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Select  assistants  from  all  churches,  three  to  every 
lOO  people  for  the  seating  capacity  of  the  building. 
The  qualifications  for  an  assistant  are : 

1.  The  ability  to  attend  every  evening  service 
(Saturday  excepted)  and  to  be  present  before  the 
opening  of  the  vloors. 

2.  Spiritual  character  and  earnestness  and  wil- 
lingness to  do  anything  for  Christ. 

Either  men  or  women,  young  or  old,  will  answer, 
provickxl  they  have  the  above  qualifications.  Pro- 
vide badges  for  them  and  an  usher's  manual  for  each 
one  and  see  that  they  are  all  present  at  the  close  of 
the  first  meeting  at  the  ushers'  conference. 

The  most  important  duties  of  the  assistants  and 
ushers  are  very  similar,  the  assistants  being  assigned 
to  permanent  locations  in  the  seats  and  having  but 
little  to  do  with  the  seating  and  moving  of  the  audi- 
ence, while  upon  the  ushers  devolves  the  duty  of 
seating  and  moving  of  the  audience,  as  well  as  other 
duties  which  are  mentioned  above. 

It  is  suggested  that  before  the  opening  of  the 
doors  a  short  prayer  service  be  held  for  God's  bless- 
ing on  the  labors  of  the  evening. 

Ushers  and  assistants  will  be  expected  at  every 
evening  service  and  on  Sunday  morning  and  after- 
noon and  at  all  other  times  when  they  can  be  present, 
excei)t  where  there  is  a  difference  in  sex.  Lady  as- 
sistants will  not  be  expected  at  services  for  men 
only,  or  in  sections  of  the  house  reserved  for  men. 
Ushers  and  assistants  will  be  expected  at  meetings 


Till-:  METHOD  OF  WORK. 


lOI 


for  people  of  all  ages ;  no  limit  of  age  will  shut  them 
out. 

The  choir  will  he  expected  at  all  services,  unless 
otherwise  especially  advised. 

There  should  he  one  assistant  for  every  thirty  to 
forty-two  people  (seating  capacity  of  the  building). 
The  diagram  below  represents  a  section  of  three 
rows,  thirty-nine  seats,  "  A  "  being  the  assistant, 
who  is  expected  to  reach  with  cards,  encouragement, 
etc. — that  is,  to  shepherd — the  twenty  people  in- 
closed within  the  lines,  the  others  being  reached  by 
the  ushers. 


0  O  0 

o  o  o  o  o  o  o 

0  O  0 

J 
in 

t— 1 

< 

0   O  0 

0  o  o  A  o  o  o 

O   O   0 

> 

tfi 

r 

O   O   0 

o  o  o  o  o  o  o 

GOO 

They  will  be  admitted  by  ticket,  the  loss  of  which 
must  be  immediately  reported.  They  should  pro- 
vide themselves  with  cards,  pencils,  and  badges  di- 
rectly on  entering  the  building  each  night,  and  be  in 
their  places  before  the  general  doors  are  opened. 

The  position  of  each  usher  should  be  in  the  rear 
of  the  section  assigned  him,  where  he  should  reserve 
a  seat  in  the  end  of  the  row. 

Cards  about  six  by  eight  inches  should  be  pro- 
vided, reading: 


This  seat 
Reserved  for 
Usher. 


This  seat 
Reserved  for 
Assistant. 


I02  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

Distribution  of  Inquirers'  Cards 

These  cards  are  to  be  distributed  by  the  ushers 
and  assistants.  There  are  three  blank  Hnes  on  each 
card.  One  for  the  name,  one  for  the  residence  and 
one  for  the  name  of  the  church  or  pastor  preferred. 
These  cards  will  be  put  up  in  packages  of  thirty, 
with  six  half-length  sharpened  lead  pencils  strapped 
to  them  with  a  rubber  band.  Each  usher  and  assist- 
ant must  be  sure  to  be  supplied  with  one  of  these 
packages  of  cards  each  evening.  Sometimes  you 
may  use  them  two  or  three  times  in  one  even- 
irig,  generally  twice ;  always  when  directed  to 
do  so  from  the  platform.  The  purpose  of  the 
cards  is  so  that  any  who  need  encourage- 
ment and  help  may  be  easily  reached  by  the 
pastors.  When  asked  to  distribute  the  cards,  take 
out  a  card  from  the  package  and  lay  a  pencil  upon  it, 
and  offer  a  card  to  each  individual  whom  you  can 
reach.  The  ushers  to  those  near  the  ends  of  the 
seats  and  the  assistants  to  those  immediately  around 
them,  both  at  the  sides  and  in  front  and  rear.  Watch 
the  people  in  your  section  carefully,  observing  those 
who  rise  for  prayer,  helping  others  to  rise  if  you 
think  they  are  impressed  or  hesitating,  and  make  it 
easy  for  them  to  indicate  their  interest,  both  in  rising 
and  in  signing  the  cards.  When  the  ushers  and  as- 
sistants collect  the  cards,  let  them  look  at  them  im- 
mediately to  see  that  the  address  and  the  pastor  and 
the  church  are  indicated.  If  any  line  is  blank  try  to 
get  the  information  without  being  obtrusive,  fill  out 


THE  METHOD  OF  WORK.  IO3 

the  card  with  the  information  that  is  lacking.  Do 
not  try  to  influence  any  one  as  to  what  church  he 
shall  attend.  When  an  announcement  is  made  con- 
cerning the  distribution  of  the  cards,  the  ushers 
should  pass  all  through  their  sections,  first  distrib- 
uting them  and  afterwards  collecting  them.  The  as- 
sistants should  stand  up  in  their  places — do  not  try 
to  do  it  sitting  down.  Be  on  the  alert  to  help  carry 
out  every  suggestion  that  may  be  made  from  the 
platform,  and  see  how  kind  and  helpful  you  can  be 
in  every  way  to  those  around  you. 

The  After-Meetings 

This  is  the  time  when  the  most  important  part  of 
your  work  has  to  be  done.  As  soon  as  the  second 
meeting  is  announced,  the  ushers  will  go  to  the 
front  of  their  sections.  Urge  people  who  seem  im- 
pressed or  interested  to  remain ;  especially  see  that 
people  who  have  risen  for  prayers,  or  who  have 
signed  cards,  remain.  If  ninety-five  out  of  a  hun- 
dred start  to  go,  it  is  natural  for  the  five  others  to 
follow,  even  if  they  have  been  spiritually  interested. 
It  is  your  business  to  see  that  they  do  not  go  out.  As 
soon  as  possible  bring  people  from  the  rear  toward 
the  front,  and  from  the  sides  to  the  center,  and  sit 
with  them  in  the  after-meeting.  See  if  there  is  not 
someone  whom  you  can  help.  It  will  not  do  to  have 
very  timid  people  for  ushers  or  assistants,  unless 
they  are  willing  to  overcome  their  timidity  for 
Christ's  sake,  and  do  this  work  thoroughly.  If  a  call 
is  made  for  any  sort  of  testimony  or  prayer,  please 


I04  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

respond  immediately,  provided  you  have  a  loud  or 
clear  voice  so  that  you  can  be  heard.  Please  make 
the  prayer  or  testimony  just  what  is  suggested,  and 
nothing  else,  and  always  exceedingly  brief.  If  pos- 
sible, shake  hands  with  people  whom  you  do  not 
know,  as  w^ell  as  with  those  whom  you  do,  among 
the  inquirers,  iind  speak  words  of  good  cheer  and 
encouragement.  Pray  with  them  when  you  have  the 
opportunity.  Sometimes  a  kind  w^ord  at  the  close  of 
the  last  meeting  may  win  a  soul  for  Christ. 

How  to  Aid  Inquirers 

Always  use  God's  word  and  if  your  experience  is 
quoted  at  all  only  let  it  be  used  to  emphasize  the 
Scripture.  In  the  general  meetings  you  will  find  it 
easy  to  put  the  question  very  kindly  and  courteously 
to  the  people,  "Are  you  a  Christian?"  If  the  an- 
swer is  "  No,"  help  them  in  every  way  you  can.  You 
will  find  about  you  four  classes  of  inquirers. 

1.  Christians  who  lack  assurance. 

The  First  Epistle  of  John  was  written  to  help  this 
class.   Emphasize  i  John  v:  13. 

2.  Backsliders. 

Read  the  prophesy  of  Jeremiah  for  yourself  and 
give  them  its  spirit.  Use  Jeremiah  iii :  12,  13.  Read 
Hosea,  14th  chapter,  especially  the  opening  verses. 

3.  Those  slightly  convicted. 

Read  Romans  iii :  10-23.  It  is  useless  to  give  the 
consolations  of  the  gospel  until  there  is  a  conscious- 
ness of  sin. 

4.  The  deeply  convicted. 


THE  METHOD  OF  WORK.  IO5 

Read  Isaiah  xli:  25  and  44:  22.  John  i:  11,  12. 
Tell  them  they  may  be  sure  of  their  salvation.  Read 
John  iii :  16,  John  v :  24,  John  vi :  47,  Romans  vi :  23. 

The  following  excuses  may  be  presented;  if  so, 
answer  them  with  God's  word : 

1.  I  can't  understand. 

"  There  is  none  that  understandeth,  there  is  none 
that  seeketh  after  God."   Romans  iii:  11, 

"  But  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him, 
neither  can  he  know  them  because  they  are  spirit- 
ually discerned."    i  Cor.  ii :   14. 

2.  Afraid  of  falling. 

*'  Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he 
which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  perform 
it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ."   Phil,  i :  6. 

''  Kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto 
salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time."  i 
Peter  i :  5. 

3.  Afraid  of  temptation. 

*'  There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you,  but  such 
as  is  common  to  man ;  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will 
not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able ; 
but  will,  with  the  temptation,  also  make  a  way  to 
escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it."   i  Cor.  x :  13. 

''  For,  in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered,  being 
tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted." 
Heb.  ii :  18. 

4.  Inconsistent  Christians  prevent. 

'*  But  why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother?  or  why 
dost  thou  set  at  naught  thy  brother?  For  we  shall 
all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.    So, 


io6 


REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 


then,  every  one  of  us  shall  give  an  account  of  him- 
self to  God."   Romans  xiv:  10-12. 

"  Therefore,  thou  art  inexcusable,  O  man,  who- 
ever thou  art  that  judgest,  for  wherein  thou  judgest 
another  thou  condemnest  thyself."  Romans  ii:  i. 

5.     When  to  believe. 

"  Choose  you  this  day  whom  you  will  serve."  Josh. 
xxiv:  15. 

"  Come,  for  all  things  are  nozv  ready."   Luke  xiv : 

17- 

*'  Behold  710ZV  is  the  accepted  time,  behold  now  is 
the  day  of  salvation."    11  Cor.  vi :  2. 


CHAPTER  IX 

PREACHING  IN  REVIVALS 

It  has  always  pleased  God  to  magnify  the  preach- 
ing of  His  Word,  and  such  names  as  those  of  Wes- 
ley, Whitefield,  Edwards  and  Finney  shall  always  be 
conspicuous  because  they  have  been  such  fearless 
preachers  of  His  truth  and  have  so  clearly  given  His 
thoughts  to  those  who  were  hungering  after  them. 

He  only  is  a  faithful  preacher  in  the  time  of  re- 
vival who  magnifies  Jesus  Christ.  Indeed,  there  is 
no  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  one  who  pre- 
sents any  other  theme.  The  Apostles  themselves 
were  the  ideal  preachers.  They  went  everywhere 
speaking  only  of  Jesus  and  the  Resurrection. 

*  '*  The  American  preachers,  in  the  early  revivals, 
found  the  cardinal  facts  of  regeneration  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  the  necessity  of  a  converted  church- 
membership,  fallen  into  comparative  neglect  or  con- 
tempt; and  their  power  was  in  giving  them  promi- 
nence. This  was  the  mighty  upheaving  force  in 
those  great  revivals.  Edwards,  with  the  clearness  of 
a  sunbeam,  insisted  much  on  justification  by  faith 
alone.  And  he  says :  *  The  beginning  of  the  late 
work  of  God  in  this  place  was  so  circumstanced  that 


♦  Handbook  of  revivals. 

107 


io8 


REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 


I  could  not  but  look  upon  it  as  a  remarkable  testi- 
mony of  God's  approbation  of  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith  alone  here  asserted  and  vindicated. 
At  that  time,  while  I  was  greatly  reproached  for 
defending  this  doctrine  in  the  pulpit,  and  just  upon 
my  suffering  a  very  open  abuse  for  it,  God's  work 
wonderfully  broke  forth  amongst  us,  and  souls  be- 
gan to  flock  to  Christ  as  the  Savior  in  whose  right- 
eousness alone  they  hoped  to  be  justified.' 

*'  Seizing  upon  a  resultant  fact  of  this  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith,  Mr.  Edwards  wrote  that  terri- 
ble sermon,  '  Sinners  in  the  hands  of  an  angry  God.' 
He  went  down  to  Enfield  and  preached  it  there  July 
8th,  1 74 1.  While  the  people  of  the  neighboring 
towns,  says  Trumbull,  were  in  great  distress  about 
their  souls,  the  inhabitants  of  Enfield  were  very  se- 
cure, loose  and  vain.  A  lecture  had  been  appointed 
there,  and  the  neighboring  people  were  so  affected 
at  the  thoughtlessness  of  the  inhabitants,  and  had  so 
much  fear  that  God  would,  in  His  righteous  judg- 
ment, pass  them  by,  that  many  of  them  were  pros- 
trate before  Him  a  considerable  part  of  the  previous 
evening,  supplicating  the  mercy  of  heaven  in  their 
behalf.  And  when  the  time  appointed  for  the  lecture 
came,  a  number  of  the  surrounding  ministers  were 
present,  as  well  as  some  from  a  distance — a  proof 
of  the  prayerful  interest  felt  on  behalf  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Edwards  chose  for  his  text  the  words,  *  Their 
feet  shall  slide  in  due  time.'  Deut.  xxxii:  35.  When 
they  went  into  the  meeting-house,  the  appearance  of 
the  assembly  was  thoughtless  and  vain ;  the  people 
scarcely   conducted    themselves    with    common   de- 


PREACHING   IN    REVIVALS  IO9 

cency.  But  as  the  sermon  proceeded,  the  audience 
became  so  overwhelmed  with  distress  and  weeping 
that  the  preacher  was  obhged  to  speak  to  the  people 
and  desire  silence,  that  he  might  be  heard.  The  ex- 
citement soon  became  intense ;  and  it  is  said  that  a 
minister  who  sat  in  the  pulpit  with  Mr.  Edwards,  in 
the  agitation  of  his  feelings,  caught  the  preacher  by 
the  skirt  of  his  dress,  and  said,  '  Mr.  Edwards !  Mr. 
Edwards !  is  not  God  a  God  of  mercy  ?  '  Many  of 
the  hearers  were  seen  unconsciously  clinging  by 
their  hands  to  the  posts,  and  the  sides  of  the  pews, 
as  though  they  already  felt  themselves  sliding  into 
the  pit.  This  fact  has  often  been  mentioned  as  a 
proof  of  the  strong  and  scriptural  character  of  Ed- 
wards' peculiar  eloquence — the  eloquence  of  truth 
attended  by  the  influence  from  heaven — for  his  ser- 
mons were  read  without  gestures. 

"  Davies,  of  Virginia,  saw  more  conversions  un- 
der his  ministry  than  did  Edwards.  He  preached  the 
same  truths,  however,  and  with  the  same  intense 
earnestness  and  unflinching  fidelity.  No  one  can 
read  his  published  sermons  without  having  his  spirit 
stirred  as  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  And  under 
such  breathing  thoughts  and  burning  words,  multi- 
tudes bowed  as  before  the  majesty  of  God. 

"  It  has  been  remarked  upon  as  an  interesting  fact 
that  three  such  men  as  Jonathan  Edwards,  George 
Whitefield  and  Samuel  Davies  should  have  been 
contemporary.  They  dififered  widely  in  their  char- 
acteristics ;  but  they  were  all  '  sons  of  thunder.'  Da- 
vies was  less  logical  than  Edwards,  and  had  less  ex- 
temporaneous fluency  than  Whitefield;  but  he  ex- 


no  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

ceeded  them  both  in  true  eloquence.  Edwards  acted 
upon  men  through  their  understanding;  Whitefield 
through  their  imagination  and  passions ;  Davies 
through  all  the  soul's  avenues.  He  had  such  com- 
mand of  every  faculty  and  affection  that  he  swept 
the  whole  field  of  intellect  and  feeling.  By  fact,  by 
argument,  by  description,  by  appeal,  by  entreaty,  by 
expostulation,  he  addressed  men's  entire  spiritual 
nature,  and  roused  it  from  its  lowest  depths.  Ed- 
wards caused  men  to  think  deeply,  and  Whitefield 
made  them  feel  strongly.  But  Davies  accomplished 
both ; — awakening  at  once  thought  and  emotion. 

"  The  successful  preachers  in  later  revivals, 
pressed  the  conscience  of  men  with  the  same  truths 
and  terrible  earnestness  as  did  their  predecessors. 
Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  speaking  of  his  preaching  be- 
fore a  work  of  grace,  says :  '  My  object  was  to  cut 
and  thrust,  hip  and  thigh,  and  not  to  ease  ofif.  I  had 
been  W'Orking  a  good  part  of  a  year  with  my  heart 
burning,  and  my  people  feeling  nothing.  Now  I 
took  hold  without  mittens.' 

*'  Says  one,  speaking  from  experience  concerning 
the  preaching  of  that  day,  '  Oh,  how  we  smarted  un- 
der it.  I  remember  it  well  in  my  own  case.  We 
complained  of  some  of  Paul's  hard  sayings,  and 
wondered  why  our  ministers  dwelt  so  much  upon 
them.  We  wanted  to  get  to  heaven  in  some  easier 
way.  But  instead  of  abating  one  jot  or  tittle  to  re- 
lieve us,  they  pressed  harder  and  harder,  driving  us 
from  one  refuge  to  another,  till  there  was  no  hiding- 
place  left.  The  law,  which  we  had  broken  times 
without  number,  we  w^re  made  to  feel  was  just;  its 


PREACHING    IN    REVIVALS  I  I  I 

fiery  penalty  hung  over  our  heads,  and  we  must  sub- 
mit or  die.' 

"  Dr.  Griffin's  statement  on  this  point  is  worthy 
of  careful  study — the  more  so  as  he  was  a  prince  in 
pulpit  oratory,  and  greatly  blessed  in  revivals.  He 
says :  *  Sinners  have  been  constantly  urged  to  im- 
mediate repentance,  and  every  excuse  has  been  taken 
away.  At  the  same  time  we  have  not  denied  or  con- 
cealed their  dependence  for  the  sake  of  convincing 
them  of  their  obligations.  On  the  contrary,  we  have 
esteemed  it  vital  to  urge  their  dependence  in  order 
to  drive  them  from  all  reliance  on  their  own 
strength,  and  to  make  them  die  to  every  hope  from 
themselves.  All  that  you  can  possibly  gain  by  flat- 
tering their  independence  is  to  extort  a  confession  of 
their  obligations ;  for  as  to  matter  of  fact,  they  will 
not  submit  until  they  are  made  willing  in  the  day  of 
God's  power.  And  if  you  can  fasten  upon  them 
their  obligations  without  that  falsehood  which  robs 
God  of  His  glory,  pray  let  it  be  done.  This  we  have 
found  it  possible  to  do.  We  have  shown  them  that 
their  obligations  rest  on  their  faculties,  and  are  as 
reasonable  and  as  complete  as  though  the  thing  re- 
quired was  merely  to  walk  across  the  floor ;  that 
their  faculties  constitute  a  natural  ability ;  that  is,  a 
full  pozver  to  love  and  serve  God,  if  their  hearts 
zvere  zvell  disposed,  leaving  nothing  in  the  way  but 
a  bad  heart  for  which  they  are  wholly  to  blame  if 
there  is  any  blame  in  the  universe ;  that  sin  can  rest 
nowhere  but  in  the  heart,  and  that  if  you  drive  it 
beyond  the  heart  you  drive  it  out  of  existence ;  that 
they  alone  create  the  necessity  for  God  to  conquer 


112  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

them,  and  to  decide  whether  he  will  conquer  them 
or  not ;  that  it  is  an  everlasting  blot  on  creation  that 
God  has  to  speak  a  second  time  to  induce  creatures 
to  love  Him,  much  more  that  He  has  to  constrain 
them  by  His  conquering  power ;  and  yet  after  all 
His  provisions  and  invitations — after  He  has  sent 
His  Son  and  His  Spirit  to  save  them — after  He  has 
opened  the  door  wide  and  stands  with  open  arms  to 
receive  them — they  will  still  break  their  way  to  per- 
dition if  His  almighty  power  do  not  prevent;  that 
by  their  own  fatal  obstinacy  they  are  cast  entirely 
upon  His  will ;  that  they  are  wholly  in  His  hands — 
that  if  He  frown  they  die,  if  He  smile  they  live  for- 
ever.    This  is  the  grandest  of  all  means  to  press 
them  out  of  themselves,  to  cast  them  dead  and  help- 
less upon  God,  to  make  them  die  that  they  may  be 
made  alive.' 

"  At  a  later  day  came  Nettleton,  so  highly  hon- 
ored of  God  in  soul-saving.  In  1825  Rev.  Mr.  Cobb 
(of  Taunton,  Mass.),  who  heard  him  preach  sixty 
times,  gave  a  description  of  the  man  and  his  preach- 
ing to  this  effect :  '  His  sermons  were  clear,  sound, 
able,  full  of  thought,  direct  and  simple,  with  unity 
of  design.  He  seemed  to  be  destined  to  be  under- 
stood. As  the  revival  progressed,  he  preached  more 
and  more  closely  and  doctrinally.  The  great  truths 
of  the  Gospel  were  the  weapons  of  his  warfare,  and 
were  wielded  with  a  spirit  and  an  energy  which  the 
people  were  unable  to  gainsay  or  resist.  He  was  re- 
markably clear  and  forcible  in  his  illustrations  of  the 
sinner's  total  depravity,  and  his  utter  inability  to 
procure   salvation  by   unregenerate   works,  or  any 


PREACHING    IN    REVIVALS  II3 

desperate  efforts.  He  showed  the  sinner  that  his  un- 
regenerate  prayers  for  a  new  heart,  his  impenitent 
seeking,  striving  and  knocking  would  be  of  no  avail ; 
and  that  absolute,  unconditional  submission  to  a 
sovereign  God  was  the  first  thing  to  be  done'/ 

"  In  another  description  we  are  told  that  he  was 
solemn,  affectionate  and  remarkably  plain.  His  style 
was  simple,  perspicuous  and  energetic.  His  illustra- 
tions were  familiar  and  striking;  such  as  rendered 
his  discourses  intelligible  to  persons  of  the  weakest 
capacity,  and  at  the  same  time  interesting  to  persons 
of  the  most  cultivated  intellect.  He  always  com- 
manded the  attention  of  the  audience.  There  was 
an  earnestness  in  his  manner  which  carried  convic- 
tion to  the  minds  of  his  hearers  that  he  believed 
what  he  spoke,  and  that  he  believed  it  to  be  truth  of 
everlasting  moment,  and  there  was  also  a  directness 
in  his  preaching,  which  made  the  hearers  feel  that 
they  were  the  persons  addressed. 

"  While  on  a  visit  to  Scotland,  Dr.  Nettleton 
preached  in  Edinburgh ;  and  during  the  sermon, 
while  pressing  home  the  high  claims  of  the  Al- 
mighty a  woman  who  sat  in  a  remote  part  of  the 
house  was  so  affected  that,  leaving  her  seat,  and 
walking  up  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  she  spoke  aloud, 
'  Dear  sir,  don't  forget  that  "  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  on  Him  might  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life."  '  " 

Mr.  D.  L.  Moody  began  his  preaching  with  his 
proclamation  of  the  law,  but  when  he  had  a  concep- 
tion given  to  him  of  the  marvelous  power  of  the 


114  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

love  of  God  he  began  to  tell  that  story ;  and  while  He 
has  been  faithful  to  all  parts  of  the  Book,  he  has  es- 
pecially been  the  advocate  of  God's  love  in  the  gift 
of  His  Son. 

It  is  said  that  the  lamented  Harry  Morehouse, 
who  preached  seven  times  from  the  text  "  For  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life,"  in  the  church  of 
which  Mr.  Moody  was  the  leader,  was  the  instru- 
ment, under  God,  of  opening  Mr.  Moody's  eyes  to 
this  most  wonderful  of  all  truths ;  and  from  that  day 
to  this  he  has  sounded  it  forth  in  no  uncertain  way. 

There  may  be  certain  rules  given  for  the  preach- 
ing. I  do  not  know  anything  better  for  the  prelimi- 
nary preaching  than  that  which  is  suggested  by  the 
late  William  W.  Newell,,  D.  D.,  in  his  Revivals: 
hozv  and  when? 

"  In  every  practical  work  there  is  a  first  step  to  be 
taken.  It  is  so  in  reference  to  revivals.  How  often 
have  I  seen  ministers  or  laymen  attempting  revival 
work !  They  complained  bitterly  of  the  coldness  of 
the  church.  They  preached  or  talked  or  prayed  well. 
They  had  not  seen  the  darkness  of  their  own  hearts. 
Their  own  spirits  were  unbroken.  They  had  not 
come  into  sweet  and  trusting  converse  with  Jesus. 
And  so  they  failed.  All  this  was  a  grave  mistake. 
They  omitted  to  take  the  first  step. 

"  The  farmer  cannot  secure  a  harvest  by  merely 
sowing  the  seed.  He  must  first  break  up  the  ground. 
So  God  says,  *  Break  up  your  fallow  ground ! ' 
Why  ?  *  For  it  is  time  to  seek  the  Lord  till  He  come 


PREACHING    IN    REVIVALS  Il5 

and  ram  righteousness  upon  you.'  (Hosea  x:  12.) 
It  is  said  of  the  Alacedonians,  '  They  first  gave  their 
own  selves  to  the  Lord.'  The  best  perfected  ma- 
chinery for  the  salvation  of  souls  is  a  grand  thing. 
But  what  is  it  without  the  Spirit  of  God?  EHjah's 
altar  was  a  fatal  failure  without  the  fire  from 
heaven.  In  spite  of  the  careless,  the  worldly,  the 
debased,  the  profligate,  and  the  scoffer,  you  may  be 
revived.  You  may  even  '  resist  the  devil  and  he  will 
flee  from  you.'  (James  iv:  7.)  '  Nothing  but  weak- 
ness or  defection  inside  the  citadel  will  endanger  it.' 
Jesus  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  waiting  to  give  you 
force  and  persistence.  Gamaliel  said  truly  to  the 
enemies  of  the  Apostles :  *  If  this  be  of  God  ye  can- 
not overthrow  it.'   Can  you  be  blocking  the  way? 

"  Disraeli  has  said,  '  Every  man  should  under- 
stand himself.'  This  is  essential  in  business  and  in- 
dispensable in  God's  work.  While  you  really  desire 
the  salvation  of  souls,  God  may  be  calling  upon  you 
to  take  up  the  stumbling-block.  That  is  the  first 
step  to  be  taken.  You  must  search  out  the  depths 
of  your  own  life  and  character  in  the  light  of  God 
and  man.  You  may  have  been  dull  and  selfish  in 
your  Christian  work,  professional  and  unbelieving 
in  your  prayers.  Your  example  may  have  brought 
religion  into  disrepute.  You  may  have  cherished 
hard  feelings.  Is  your  leading  desire  for  a  revival 
legitimate?  You  may  desire  a  revival  on  account 
of  your  own  reputation  and  the  outward  prosperity 
of  the  church.  A  neighbor  of  mine  once  held  a  pro- 
tracted meeting  with  the  avowed  design  of  estab- 
lishing his  own  waning  popularity.   It  resulted  in  his 


Il6  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

failure  and  dismission.  You  may  strongly  desire  the 
salvation  of  souls,  with  small  appreciation  of  their 
guilt  and  with  slight  regard  for  the  honor  of  Jesus. 
'*  Some  years  ago  I  was  deeply  affected  by  these 
views  and  examples.  I  had  seen  so  many  revivals 
averted  by  the  condition  of  pastors  that  I  devoted 
the  entire  week  of  prayer  to  a  preparation  of  my 
own  heart  and  life.  I  believed  that  I  was  a 
Christian,  but  I  wanted  to  see  myself  as  God  saw 
me.  I  wanted  to  be  thoroughly  humbled  and  com- 
pletely emptied  of  self.  I  wanted  to  press  upon  the 
church  and  the  world  the  overwhelming  motives  of 
God's  eternal  word  with  all  the  magnetism  of  a 
fervid,  confident,  loving,  divine  spirit.  In  pleading 
with  Jehovah  for  others  I  would  obey  His  command, 

*  Be  ye  clean  that  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord.'  (Isa. 
liii :  2.)  On  Monday  I  considered  the  infinitely  holy 
character  of  God.  By  this  stupendous  theme  my 
soul  was  greatly  awed.  On  Tuesday  I  considered 
my  own  particular  sins,  in  the  presence  of  that  Je- 
hovah with  whom  even  tlie  solemn  meeting  may  be 
iniquity.  (Isa.  i:  13.)  I  asked  myself,  'What  of 
your  pride,  ambition,  self-seeking?  What  have  you 
lacked  in  love,  trust,  spirituality,  improvement  of 
time,  and  toil  for  the  lost  ?  '  On  Wednesday  I  con- 
sidered God's  kindness  to  me,  my  family  and  my 
church.  I  was  amazed  at  his  munificence ;  I  was 
abased  at  my  own  unthankfulness.  But  He  had 
snatched  away  my  loved  ones.  Yet  He  enabled  me 
to  say,  *  O  God,  Thy  will  be  done — my  Jesus,  as 
Thou    wilt.'      On    Thursday    my  questions  were: 

*  Why  do  you  want  a  revival  of  religion  ?     Is   it 


PREACHING   IN    REVIVALS  H? 

chiefly  to  build  up  one  man  or  one  church,  to  make 
your  people  more  genial  and  loving?  Or  are  you 
seeking  first  of  all  to  honor  Jesus  in  the  salvation  of 
the  perishing?  Have  you  been  asking  for  things 
which  you  do  not  expect  to  receive  and  which  you 
make  slight  efforts  to  secure  ?  ' 

'' '  By  this  time  I  was  ready  to  cry  with  the 
Apostle :  '  Oh ;  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?'  (Rom. 
vii:  24.)  On  Friday  I  was  prepared  as  never  before 
to  look  to  Jesus.  Mere  earthly  advantages  seemed 
to  me  like  the  idle  wind.  I  confessed  and  loathed  my 
sin.  '  I  looked  upon  Him  whom  I  had  pierced,  and 
I  mourned  for  Him.'  (Zech.  xii :  10.)  I  laid  myself 
upon  His  altar,  to  do  and  to  suffer  His  will.  With 
great  confidence  I  sought  His  Spirit.  My  view  was 
definite.  My  feeling  was  deep.  My  soul  was  filled 
with  confidence  and  peace.  Each  evening  during  the 
week  I  had  poured  forth  to  my  church  the  experi- 
ence of  the  day.  When  told  by  one  of  them  to  look 
for  Christ,  the  answer  was,  *  God's  Spirit  is  teach- 
ing me  what  I  need.  It  is  making  for  me  a  straight 
path  to  my  Savior.'  At  the  close  of  this  Friday 
evening  numbers  took  my  hand  and  with  glowing 
faces,  exclaimed :  '  Oh,  what  a  meeting  we  have 
had !    We  knew  you  would  come  out.' 

"  The  next  morning,  as  I  walked  down  Broad- 
way, I  was  charmed  with  the  brightness  and  beauty 
of  the  day.  My  heart  was  filled  with  song  and  glad- 
ness. In  the  midst  of  the  great  throng  I  almost  ex- 
claimed aloud :  '  Jesus  is  mine.  Bless  the  Lord,  O 
my  soul.    O  Lord,  Thou  art  my  God,  I  will  exalt 


ii8 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


Thee.  I  will  praise  Thy  name,  for  Thou  hast  done 
wonderful  things.'  (Isa.  xxv:  ii.)  In  this  move- 
ment I  had  the  sympathy  and  fellowship  of  the 
church.  The  great  revival  had  commenced.  The 
nightly  meetings  were  continued.  The  ungodly  were 
attracted.  We  deplored  their  condition.  We  toiled 
and  prayed  for  their  rescue.  God  had  restored  to  us 
the  joys  of  His  salvation;  He  upheld  us  with  His 
free  Spirit;  then  we  taught  transgressors  His  ways 
and  sinners  were  converted  unto  Him. 

*'  I  do  not  say  that  a  process  of  this  length  and 
character  is  always  judicious  or  necessary.  But  we 
are  so  prone  to  formality,  self-seeking  and  self-de- 
ception, even  in  our  holy  things,  that  it  is  always 
profitable  to  heed  the  exhortation  of  the  weeping 
Prophet,  '  Let  us  search  and  try  our  ways,  and 
turn  again  to  the  Lord.'  (Lam.  iii:  40.)  Always  re- 
membering that  *  the  preparations  of  the  heart  in 
man  and  the  answer  of  the  tongue  is  from  the  Lord.' 
(Prov.  xvi:  i.)  By  this  process  we  found,  as  one 
has  said :  *  To  repent  is  to  be  forgiven,  to  give  up  is 
to  receive,  to  be  weak  is  to  be  strong,  to  be  nothing 
is  to  be  everything.'  In  almost  every  church  I  be- 
lieve that  such  a  week  of  prayer  and  heart-search- 
ing would  lead  to  the  conversion  of  sinners.  What 
an  experience  David  had  before  he  could  exclaim, 
*  Then  will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  ways  and  sin- 
ners shall  be  converted  unto  Thee!'"  (Ps.  li :  12.) 

After  the  revival  has  begun  it  has  been  found 
quite  advisable  to  follow  the  suggestions  hereinafter 
named : 

I.     Have  absolute  confidence  in  God  that  what 


PREACHING    IN    REVIVALS  119 

He  has  said  in  His  Word  He  means,  and  that  what 
He  has  promised  He  will  perform.  Remember  that 
there  is  no  other  cure  for  sin  than  that  which  is  pre- 
sented in  Christ. 

2.  Expect  results  from  God.  This  confidence  in 
one's  Savior  and  his  methods  is  contagious,  and  in  a 
little  time  he  will  find  that  he  is  not  alone  in  his  be- 
lief, but  that  there  are  other  hearts  dying  like  his 
own.  When  Nehemiah  went  first  to  view  the  ruins 
of  Jerusalem,  he  did  not  take  the  multitudes  with 
him ;  but  the  Scriptures  tell  us  that  he  went  with  a 
few  men,  and  when  he  looked  upon  the  desolation  he 
said  to  the  few,  *'  Come,  let  us  rebuild ;  "  and  the 
few  quickly  responded.  Then  they  hurried  back  to 
the  multitudes,  and  shouted,  "  Come,  let  us  rebuild." 
And  in  a  little  time  every  man  was  byilding  against 
his  own  house,  sword  in  one  hand,  trowel  in  the 
other,  and  the  wall  was  joined  together  unto  the  half 
thereof ;  for  the  people  had  a  mind  to  work. 

3.  Do  not  simply  preach  about  Christ  and  tell 
how  to  come  to  Him ;  but  give  your  hearers  an  op- 
portunity to  make  a  profession  of  faith.  It  is  true 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  waiting  to  do  his  work ;  but 
it  is  also  true  that  past  history  shows  that  He  elects 
to  work  through  God's  people.  We  are  His  chosen 
instruments. 

4.  Let  the  plan  of  salvation  be  perfectly  stated  in 
every  sermon  preached,  so  that  if  one  should  hear 
you  but  once  he  would  understand  the  way  of  life. 

My  final  suggestion  is,  press  the  truth  home  for 
immediate  decision.  God's  promises  are  all  for  to- 
day; none  for  to-morrow.    We  have  no  assurance 


I20  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

that  our  listening  people  may  ever  have  another 
chance. 

Before  the  Chicago  fire,  Moody  and  Sankey  were 
taking  their  people  through  the  life  of  Christ  in 
their  preaching  and  singing.  They  had  considered 
Him  in  every  incident  of  his  life.  The  audiences 
were  great ;  the  interest  was  profound.  When  the 
story  was  completed,  Mr.  Moody  said,  ''  Next  Sun- 
day we  will  tell  you  what  you  must  do  to  be  saved." 
The  audience  was  dismissed,  and  never  gathered  to- 
gether again  in  the  w^orld;  for  just  following  this 
service  the  great  Chicago  fire  occurred,  and  many 
went  out  from  the  sound  of  Mr.  Moody's  voice  into 
the  unending  eternity. 

Every  minister  ought  to  preach  with  the  convic- 
tion that  he  was  having  his  last  opportunity,  and 
'  that  those  who  heard  him  would  never  have  another 
chance  to  be  saved. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  REVIVAL  IN  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

"Decision  Day  in  the  Siinday-SchooV* 

If  a  farmer  were  to  occupy  all  his  time  in  sowing 
the  seed  and  make  no  provision  for  the  gathering  of 
a  harvest  which  he  would  have  a  right  to  expect,  we 
should  think  him  bereft  of  all  reason.  There  are  cer- 
tain laws  governing  the  sowing  of  seed,  the  watch- 
ing for  growth  and  development  and  the  reaping  of 
the  harvest.  It  is  likewise  true  that  there  are  certain 
well  defined  laws  concerning  the  use  of  God's  Word 
in  teaching  and  preaching.  It  is  the  good  seed  in- 
deed, and  the  heart  of  a  child  has  always  been  found 
to  be  particularly  good  ground  upon  which  it  may 
fall. 

There  is  a  clear  promise  in  the  Bible  that  God's 
"  Word  shall  not  return  unto  Him  void,  but  shall 
accomplish  that  which  He  pleases  and  prosper  in 
the  thing  whereunto  He  hath  sent  it."  If  therefore, 
there  are  few  conversions  and  the  harvest  in  the 
Sunday-school  is  not  gathered,  the  responsibility  for 
failure  cannot  be  with  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  but 
must  be  with  those  of  us  who  are  supposed  to  be 
the  laborers  in  His  harvest  field.   I  can  find  no  rea- 

121 


122  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

son  in  God's  Word  why  there  should  not  be  a  con- 
stant ingathering  of  the  children  and  young  people 
into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  why  there  may  not  be 
frequent  harvest  seasons  and  oft-repeated  decision 
days.  In  order  that  Sunday-school  workers  may  be 
led  to  expect  and  work  for  such  seasons  of  blessing, 
this  message  is  sent  forth. 

It  is  necessary  first  of  all  that  there  should  be  cer- 
tain propositions  stated  and  accepted  before  we  may 
be  expected  to  gather  the  results  of  our  work. 

First — It  must  be  accepted  as  true  that  when  a 
child  has  reached  the  age  of  accountability,  where  he 
may  intelligently  accept  or  reject  Christ  as  a  Savior, 
he  needs  Christ  in  order  that  he  may  be  saved. 
"  There  is  none  other  name  given  under  Heaven  or 
among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  This  text 
applies  to  a  child  having  reached  the  age  of  ac- 
countability as  well  as  to  those  older  in  years.  If  we 
do  not  accept  this  statement  we  shall  not  be  much 
concerned  about  their  souls. 

Second — We  do  not  know  just  when  our  children 
may  reach  the  point  of  responsibility.  It  is  said  that 
in  the  Niagara  River  there  is  one  point  called  *'  Past 
Redemption  Point,"  and  that  if  one  reaches  and 
passes  this  place,  he  is  hurried  on  to  the  Rapids  and 
the  chances  are  all  against  his  life  being  saved.  We 
do  not  know  at  what  age  our  children  may  pass  this 
point  in  their  lives. 

Third — This  being  true,  it  is  wise  for  us  to  pre- 
sent Christ"  to  them  as  a  Savior  very  early  in  their 
lives.  It  is  said  that  the  cannon  ball  passing  through 
a  four-foot  bore  of  the  cannon  receives  its  impulse 


A   REVIVAL    IN    THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  123 

for  the  whole  course  it  is  to  travel.  And  the  state- 
ment has  been  made  that  the  Catholic  authorities 
have  said :  ''  If  you  will  give  us  your  children  for 
the  first  nine  years  of  their  lives,  you  can  never  win 
them  away  from  us."  It  is  therefore  doubtless  true 
that  many  a  child  receives  impressions  before  he  is 
ten  years  of  age  that  determine  the  whole  course  of 
his  after  life.  What  an  awful  responsibility  not  to 
present  Christ  to  him  as  Savior  and  keeper. 

Fourth — The  history  of  the  church  proves  that 
many  of  those  who  have  been  the  real  pillars  in 
the  house  of  God  came  to  an  acceptance  of 
Christ  before  the  age  of  twelve  years.  So,  whatever 
may  be  our  individual  opinion  concerning  the  con- 
version of  children,  God  has  set  His  approval  on  the 
work  and  has  said :  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

In  an  audience  of  5,000  people  in  a  Western  city 
I  asked  all  who  had  accepted  Christ  between  the 
ages  of  ten  and  twenty  to  rise  and  it  seemed  as  if  the 
entire  audience  was  standing.  When  those  who  had 
come  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty  were 
asked  to  stand  the  number  was  greatly  di- 
minished, not  more  than  four  hundred  being 
on  their  feet.  When  the  ages  were  changed 
to  between  forty  and  fifty,  there  were  not 
more  than  a  hundred  standing,  and  when  it  was  sug- 
gested that  all  who  had  accepted  Christ  between  the 
ages  of  fifty  and  sixty  should  stand  there  were  only 
four  in  five  thousand  who  stood  to  make  such  con- 
fession.  I  am  aware  that  this  may  not  have  been  an 


124  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

exact  test  for  all  may  not  have  perfectly  understood 
the  call,  but  it  can  be  proven  by  the  statistics  of  the 
church  that  the  majority  of  people  come  to  Christ 
before  the  age  of  twenty,  and  if  they  do  not  come  at 
this  time  the  chances  begin  to  run  mightily  against 
them. 

Fifth — To  put  any  hindrance  in  the  way  of  their 
coming,  or  to  be  indifferent  to  their  acceptance  of 
Christ,  is  a  responsibility  too  grave  to  be  borne  by 
any  of  us. 

The  little  son  of  a  distinguished  minister  came  to 
him  one  day  to  say  that  he  wanted  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church.  His  father  thought  he  knew  the 
boy  and  said  to  him :  ''  My  son,  you  may  not  under- 
stand just  what  it  means  to  join  the  church."  The 
child,  however,  assured  him  that  he  did.  Finally, 
the  father  persuaded  him  to  accept  this  proposition. 
He  said:  "We  are  just  now  going  away  for  the 
summer  vacation.  When  we  come  back,  if  you  still 
wish  it,  we  will  then  take  you  into  the  church."  This 
was  not  according  to  the  boy's  desire,  but  he  yielded. 
The  summer  passed,  but  said  this  minister :  ''  When 
I  came  back  in  the  fall  I  came  back  w^ithout  my  boy. 
He  died  in  the  summer  days."  Doubtless  the  child 
was  accepted  of  Christ  because  of  his  desire,  but  I 
am  firmly  convinced  that  he  ought  to  have  been  in 
the  church,  and  the  father  believes  it,  too,  to-day. 

There  are  those  who  will  not  come  to  Christ  if 
they  are  not  urged  to  do  so  in  childhood.  In  one  of 
the  cities  of  New  York  a  minister  arose  in  one  of  the 
meetings  to  say :  "  Let  me  tell  you  of  a  playmate  of 
mine,  a  little  girl.   There  was  a  special  service  in  the 


A   REVIVAL   IN    THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL  125 

school  of  which  we  were  both  members ;  an  appeal 
was  made  which  resulted  in  my  own  conversion. 
This  girl  was  even  more  deeply  moved  than  I,  but, 
there  being  no  one  to  lead  her  to  a  decision,  she  left 
the  school.  I  met  her  years  after  in  Paris,  when  I 
asked  her  if  she  ever  became  a  Christian.  With  a 
sneer  on  her  face,  that  had  once  been  wet  with  tears, 
she  said :  '  Why,  I  never  think  of  it,  and  have  not 
for  years.  I  have  clearly  made  up  my  mind  that  I 
shall  never  be  a  Christian.'  "  What  God  in  His 
mercy  may  do  for  her  before  her  life's  journey  ends 
I  cannot  say,  but  there  was  a  time  when,  as  a  child, 
one  touch  of  helpfulness  would  have  led  her  to  a 
decision. 

Sixth — When  you  lead  a  child  to  Christ,  as  a  rule 
the  work  does  not  stop  with  that  one  little  life.  Oth- 
ers have  been  won  indirectly  by  that  one.  Characters 
have  been  transformed  and  entire  homes  have  been 
changed  by  the  conversion  of  children. 

I  was  preaching  in  an  Ohio  city  when  I  had  one 
night  pointed  out  to  me  in  the  audience  one  of  the 
leading  business  men  of  the  State.  His  wife  sat 
with  him,  and  between  them  their  one  little  child. 
I  have  never  had  more  indifferent  or  inattentive  au- 
ditors than  the  gentleman  and  his  wife ;  they  paid  no 
attention  to  either  speaking  or  singing,  but  the  little 
child  scarcely  took  her  eyes  from  me.  The  meeting 
closed  and  they  went  home ;  the  child's  heart  had 
been  touched.  When  she  climbed  up  into  her  fa- 
ther's arms  to  say  good-night  she  said  to  him : 
"  Papa,  I  wish  you  would  be  a  Christian  so  that  I 
could  be  one  too."    What  the  sermon  and  the  song 


126 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


had  failed  to  do,  the  child  accomplished.  And  be- 
fore they  slept  that  night  both  the  father  and  the 
mqther  had  yielded  themselves  to  Christ. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  a  "  Decision  Day  "  in  the 
Sunday-school  might  mean  entire  households  saved. 
If  we  have  been  faithful  in  our  work  as  teachers  and 
superintendents  there  are  certain  things  we  have  a 
right  to  expect  from  God. 

First.     That  He  will  honor  His  own  word. 

If  you  have  presented  the  plan  of  salvation  to 
your  scholars  and  stand  ready  to  be  used  of  God  to 
help  the  scholar  to  a  confession  of  Christ,  you  have 
a  right  to  expect  that  He  will  set  His  seal  upon  your 
work. 

Second.  If  you  have  presented  Christ  to  your 
scholars,  you  have  a  perfect  right  to  believe  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  will  witness  to  Him  and  make  Him  a 
power  in  the  life  of  your  scholar,  for  this  is  His 
work. 

Third.  You  have  a  perfect  right  also,  these  con- 
ditions being  fulfilled,  to  look  for  and  expect  the 
conversion  of  the  scholars  of  your  class. 

The  Name 

The  day  in  the  interests  of  which  this  message  is 
sent  forth  may  well  be  called  "  The  Decision  Day  in 
the  Sunday-school."  It  would  be  perfectly  natural 
to  expect  conversions  constantly,  and  if  our  schools 
were  as  God  would  have  them  be,  our  children 
would  come  as  naturally  into  the  Kingdom  of  God 
as  the  sun  rises  in  the  morning  and  sets  at  night. 


y 

A   REVIVAL    IN    THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL  127 

But  it  is  a  wise  thing,  even  if  this  be  true,  to  appoint 
certain  days  when  decisions  may  be  wisely  and 
strongly  urged.  These  days  may  be  more  or  less 
frequent,  as  the  workers  in  the  church  may  elect,  but 
ought  certainly  to  be  observed  each  year,  although 
in  some  schools  they  are  held  as  often  as  once  a 
quarter,  and  always  with  blessing. 

Let  the  following  rules  be  adopted,  or  modified,  so 
as  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  various  communities,  and 
the  writer  can  assure  those  following  them  that  the 
efforts  will  certainly  be  crowned  with  success : 

1.  Plan  and  pray  about  the  time  you  set  apart 
and  let  it  be  far  enough  in  the  future  to  prevent  any- 
thing coming  in  the  way  of  its  successful  prosecu- 
tion or  standing  before  it  as  a  hindrance. 

2.  When  the  day  arrives  let  the  pastor  preach 
such  a  sermon  as  would  lead  parents  to  see  their  re- 
sponsibility and  to  make  the  teachers  understand 
their  opportunity  for  marvellous  service. 

3.  Appoint  a  prayer  meeting  for  the  teachers  at 
least  half  an  hour  before  the  time  of  the  session  of 
the  school.  In  this  meeting  let  special  prayer  be  of- 
fered ;  first,  for  the  teachers,  that  they  may  be 
specially  anointed  for  this  special  work ;  second,  for 
the  unconverted  scholars.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have 
the  names  before  you  for  special  mention.  In  one 
school  in  Pennsylvania  the  pastor  himself  had  se- 
cured the  names  of  seventy-five  of  the  scholars  who 
had  not  accepted  Christ,  and  with  all  the  teachers  on 
their  knees  he  read  over  these  names  one  by  one  until 
he  could  read  no  more,  because  of  the  sobs  of  those 


128 


REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 


who  filled  the  room,  and  he  told  me  when  the  results 
were  tabulated  that  he  did  not  believe  there  was  one 
of  the  seventy-five  that  had  not  taken  a  stand  for 
Christ. 

4.  Make  the  session  of  the  school  special  in  every 
way. 

(i)  Sing  only  such  hymns  as  would  produce  a 
tender  impression  upon  both  scholar  and  teacher. 
Much  of  the  so-called  Sunday-school  music  would 
be  inappropriate  for  such  a  day.  Such  hymns  as 
''  Just  as  I  Am  Without  One  Plea,"  ''  Nearer  My 
God  to  Thee,"  "  Jesus  Lover  of  My  Soul "  and  "  Je- 
sus Paid  it  All "  would  be  most  helpful. 

(2)  Mark  the  attendance  and  take  the  offering 
of  the  school^  so  that  nothing  may  be  in  the  way  at 
the  close  of  the  session  when  the  special  appeal  is  to 
be  made  by  the  pastor. 

(3)  Call  on  different  teachers  to  pray  briefly  as 
they  sit  with  their  scholars,  so  that  at  once  it  may  be 
understood  that  the  session  of  the  school  is  special 
and  that  you  are  waiting  much  upon  God  about  it. 

(4)  It  is  always  best  to  dispense  entirely  with 
the  regular  lesson,  whatever  it  may  be.  I  know  the 
objections  urged  against  this  plan,  especially  when 
the  lesson  seems  appropriate,  but  I  know  also  that 
nothing  makes  a  deeper  impression  on  the  scholars 
than  to  have  the  announcement  made  from  the  desk 
that  "  there  will  be  no  special  study  of  the  lesson  to- 
day, for  we  have  a  matter  of  greater  importance  be- 
fore us."    Such  an  announcement  being  made,  you 


A   REVIVAL   IN    THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  129 

will  find  that  there  will  be  a  kind  of  a  hush  fall  upon 
the  school,  and  this  is  the  beginning  of  the  blessing. 
Put  absolute  confidence  in  God,  then  do  as  has  been 
suggested  by  some  one  else,  "  having  planned  your 
work,  work  your  plan." 

The  Plan 

First — Let  the  superintendent  say  that  the  day  is 
special.  Let  him  tell  the  scholars  with  all  tenderness, 
that  he  is  concerned  for  them.  Let  him  state  briefly 
what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  If  he  has  been  much 
in  prayer  about  it,  God  will  use  him  and  the  scholars 
will  be  deeply  impressed  by  the  mere  statement  of 
the  man  who  stands  as  their  leader  in  the  work  of 
the  Sunday-school. 

Second — Let  him  then  give  the  teachers  an  op- 
portunity to  make  their  plea.  They  know  the 
scholars  intimately  enough  to  speak  wisely  with 
them.  I  remember  one  class  in  the  Sunday-school 
where  as  I  entered  the  room  I  saw  the  scholars' 
heads  all  bowed  in  prayer,  and  as  I  passed  by  I  heard 
the  teacher  say,  "  Oh,  God,  save  the  scholars  to- 
day." 

It  is  not  a  time  for  argument,  but  just  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  plain,  tender  statement  of  the  way  of 
life  out  of  a  full  heart.  It  is  well  to  have  an  ac- 
knowledgment card,  which  the  teacher  may  use  to 
secure  the  names  of  those  who  take  even  a  slight 
stand  for  Christ  in  order  that  it  may  be  a  matter  of 
record.  The  following  is  a  sample : 


130  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


Acknowledgment  Card 

I  do  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  is  my  Savior. 

It  is  my  honest  purpose  to  serve  Him  all  my  life. 

Scholar's  Name 

Address ,- 

Teacher's  Name 

Date Class  No 

It  is  natural  that  I  should  believe  heartily  in  such 
a  plan.  I  was  a  scholar  in  a  Sunday-school  in  Rich- 
mond, Ind.,  when  someone  was  making  an  appeal  to 
the  scholars  to  confess  Christ  by  rising.  The  most  of 
my  class  of  boys  were  standing,  and  I  was  saying  to 
myself,  "  Why  should  I  stand  ?  My  mother  and 
father  are  both  Christians.  I  think  I  believe  in 
Christ.  For  me  to  stand  is  not  a  necessity,"  when 
suddenly  I  felt  a  touch  on  my  shoulder  and  my 
teacher,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Binckley,  was  saying,  "  Hadn't 
you  better  stand  ?  "  And  somehow  she  got  her  hand 
just  under  my  elbow  and  seemed  to  lift  me  up.  I 
shall  never  forget  my  standing  that  day.  Whether  I 
had  been  accepted  of  God  before  that  day  or  not  I 
cannot  say,  but  I  do  know  that  the  deepest  impres- 
sion of  my  life  was  made  at  that  minute,  and  under 
God,  my  Sunday  school  teacher  was  the  channel 
through  which  the  blessing  came. 

Third — When  the  superintendent  has  made  his 
statement,  and  the  teachers  their  plea  and  record  of 
those  who  desire  to  know  Christ  has  been  made  by 
the  signing  of  the  Acknowledgment  Card,  then  let 
the  pastor  take  full  charge,  and  as  if  there  had  been 


A    REVIVAL    IN    THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL  13^ 

made  no  statement  before,  lay  before  the  scholars 
the  way  of  life,  their  need  of  Christ,  and  press  home 
upon  them  the  desirability  of  an  immediate  decision 
for  Christ.  Any  method  may  be  used  to  lead  to  a 
final  surrender  which  may  be  commended  by  the  de- 
nomination in  which  the  church  is  found.  I  remem- 
ber a  Methodist  church  in  Brooklyn  where  at  least 
one  hundred  scholars  bowed  at  the  altar,  and  also  re- 
call a  Presbyterian  school  where  the  scholars  by 
standing  one  after  another,  signified  their  determi- 
nation to  serve  Christ.  It  is  a  serious  mistake  not  to 
keep  a  record  of  all  the  names  of  those  who  thus 
take  their  stand  in  the  service. 

Caring  for  the  Results 

What  shall  be  done  with  those  who  have  made  a 
decision?  This  is  a  serious  question,  and  can  only  be 
settled  by  the  pastors,  superintendents  and  teachers. 
If  allowed  to  drift,  the  action  in  the  Sunday-school 
may  mean  very  little,  but  if  carefully  nurtured  the 
greater  proportion  of  those  signing  the  Acknow- 
ledgment Cards  may  be  ultimately  found  in  the 
church. 

In  some  cases  they  may  be  received  at  once  into 
the  fellowship  of  the  church,  although  it  would  seem 
better  to  form  them  into  a  special  class  and  give 
them  such  instruction  as  they  may  need  to  become 
intelligent  members  of  the  church.  I  have  known  of 
special  cases  where  for  two  years  the  classes  were 
thus  instructed  until  the  whole  number  had  been  re- 
ceived into  the  church. 


132  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

This  whole  method  of  the  Decision  Day  is  Hke  the 
Scotch  woman's  promises  in  the  Bible.  After  very 
many  of  them  she.  had  placed  the  two  letters,  "  T. 
P.,"  and  when  asked  for  the  meaning  of  the  letters 
she  replied,  "  They  mean  tried  and  proven."  So  it  is 
with  these  suggestions.  In  many  cities  and  towns 
throughout  the  country  they  have  been  put  to  the 
test  and  God  has  set  His  seal  upon  them. 

Only  this  in  conclusion :  Since  it  is  so  very  diffi- 
cult to  lead  strong  men  and  women  to  a  decision 
after  they  have  rejected  Christ  for  many  years,  and 
since  the  natural  time  for  one  to  come  to  Christ  is  in 
youth,  as  the  church's  statistics  will  prove,  it  be- 
hooves us  to  lay  hold  upon  these  gracious  opportuni- 
ties given  us  of  God  to  save  the  young,  and  if  we 
should  fail  there  will  be  perilous  times  before  the 
church  in  the  future. 

There  are  clear  indications  in  these  days  of  a 
coming  revival  which  shall  sweep  over  this  land  of 
ours  and  carry  blessing  wherever  the  Gospel  is 
preached.  Not  the  least  of  these  indications  is  an 
increasing  concern  on  the  part  of  Sunday-school 
teachers  for  their  scholars,  and  a  marked  willingness 
on  the  part  of  the  young  people  to  come  to  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XI 

REVIVALS   HELPED 

The  victory  is  not  wholly  won  when  God  has 
given  us  what  may  be  counted  as  an  earnest  of  an 
approaching  blessing.  The  most  critical  time  in  the 
day  of  revival  is  when  we  are  sure  not  only  that  God 
is  ready  to  pour  out  His  spirit  in  great  power  upon 
the  people,  but  also  that  the  people  are  ready  to  ful- 
fill the  conditions,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  hin- 
drance in  the  way  of  the  blessing,  for  the  following 
reasons : 

1.  There  is  a  disposition  to  be  encouraged  be- 
cause of  past  success  and  neglect  to  wait  before  God 
for  the  continuation  of  His  blessing.  This  is  peril- 
ous to  the  work  and  few  things  could  more  grieve 
the  Spirit.  If  one  is  to  keep  in  touch  with  God  in  the 
day  of  revival  he  must  walk  very  softly  before  Him, 
and  if  he  would  have  the  work  of  the  Lord  go  for- 
ward he  must  ever  labor  with  his  eyes  upward  and 
with  his  faith  stayed  upon  God. 

2.  God  has  seemed  especially  in  these  latter  days 
to  honor  the  methods  of  men,  and  machinery,  as  it 
has  been  called  by  some,  and  indeed  some  of  the 
greatest  revivals  in  the  past  ten  years  have  come  as 
the  result  of  wise  planning  and  the  adoption  of  meth- 

^33 


134  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

ods  which  have  certainly  not  been  displeasing  to 
God.  But  there  is  not  infrequently  a  tendency  to 
depend  upon  such  methods  and  machinery  and  thus 
neglect  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  no  planning  of  men  and 
no  methods  or  machinery  of  men  can  ever  take  the 
place  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  many  a  revival  which 
promised  a  glorious  victory  in  the  beginning  has 
come  to  naught  because  the  spirit  of  God  has  been 
neglected  and  grieved. 

These  hindrances  lead  me  to  say  that  among  the 
many  helps  in  a  revival  the  following  may  be  men- 
tioned : 

I.  A  profound  belief  in  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the 
conviction  that  He  is  willing  and  waits  to  do  His  part 
in  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  quickening  of 
the  church.  We  say  in  the  creed,  "  I  believe  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  and  theoretically  we  do,  but  practically 
we  are  filled  with  the  spirit  of  unbelief.  One  church 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  believing  in  Him 
could  shake  an  entire  city  with  the  power  of  God. 

A  study  of  revivals  in  the  past  will  furnish  one 
with  abundance  of  proof  by  means  of  which  we  may 
learn  that  one  man  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a 
host  in  himself  and  may  accomplish  that  which  seems 
from  the  human  standpoint  impossible.  It  will  also 
be  found  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  question  as  to  who 
the  man  is  or  what  he  has  been.  He  is  not  honored 
because  of  social  position  or  intellectual  equipment ; 
he  is  not  a  chosen  leader  because  there  is  that  about 
him  which  in  the  judgment  of  men  might  qualify 
him  for  his  high  position,  but  because  God  finds  it 
safe  to  trust  him  with  the  power  of  the  highest,  and 


REVIVALS    HELPED  135 

because  he  having  fulfilled  the  conditions  prescribed 
in  God's  word  for  the  reception  of  this  power  there 
is  no  reason  either  in  God's  plan  or  the  man's  life 
why  he  may  not  be  filled.  Alas,  it  is  true,  however, 
that  God  is  not  always  able  to  trust  us  with  Himself. 
The  history  of  the  Church  is  made  luminous  by  the 
lives  of  those  who  have  simply  believed  God  and 
whose  faith  in  the  Holy  Ghost  was  truly  sublime. 

2.  There  is  no  greater  help  to  a  revival  than  an 
unshaken  belief  in  prayer.    Of  all  the  subjects  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament  the  one  least  under- 
stood and  possibly  the  least  comprehended  is  prayer. 
We  have,  as  it  were,  just  touched  the  outer  edge  of 
its  circumference.  When  Jesus  said  "  Whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  My  name  that  will  I  do 
that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  son,"  we  have 
the  blank  check,  as  it  were,  drawn  upon  the  bank 
of  Heaven,  signed  by  the  Father  Himself,  but  left 
for  us  to  fill  in  with  whatsoever  we  need  for  His 
glory.  We  may  take  our  individual  needs,  our  house- 
hold cares,  our  longings  for  the  Church,  our  desires 
for  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  the  lost 
souls,  for  whom  we  have  a  burden  that  they  may  be 
saved  and  binding  them  all  together  the  one  word 
whatsoever  covers  them  all.  If  we  know  how  to  pray 
as  George  Muller  knew — if  we  could  only  somehow 
get  the  simple  faith  of  Hudson  Taylor,    the    great 
China  Inland  Missionary,  we  could  then  live  in  a 
perpetual  state  of  revival.     ''Ask  and  ye  shall  re- 
ceive'' this  is  the  statement  of  God  Himself.   May  I 
suggest  the  following  as  a  plan  which  God  has  been 
pleased  to  honor  in  other  days.     It  is  not  necessary 


136  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

that  many  should  be  banded  together  to  pray  even 
for  a  revival  for  the  promise  is  to  two  or  three  gath- 
ered in  the  name  of  Christ.  But  begin  with  two  and 
increase  the  number  only  by  those  who  know  how  to 
pray.  There  need  be  no  limit  to  the  number,  there 
must  be  no  limit  to  your  faith,  there  will  be  no  meas- 
ure for  your  blessing,  "  exceeding  abundantly  above 
all  that  you  ask  or  think  "  is  God's  description  of  it. 
From  the  circle  of  prayer  carry  the  work  to  the 
homes  in  the  community,  enlarge  the  measure  of  in- 
fluence by  increasing  the  number  of  invitations  both 
to  saved  and  unsaved.  Appoint  special  services  for 
prayer  in  the  Church,  be  definite  in  all  your  requests, 
pray  for  individuals  by  name.  Have  a  day  of  prayer 
appointed,  and  in  many  cases  a  night  of  prayer  would 
be  a  blessing.  Ask  God  for  a  revival.  Search  your 
own  hearts  to  see  if  there  is  any  obstacle  there,  finally 
believe  God's  word  and  trust  Him.  There  can  be 
only  one  result,  namely,  a  sweeping  revival.  But  the 
prayer  is  not  to  cease  because  the  revival  has  come. 
''  Thou  shall  see  greater  things  than  these  "  if  the 
''  effectual  fervent "  prayer  is  offered  without  ceas- 

^  3.  I  have  never  known  of  a  wide-spread  revival  of 
religion  that  did  not  trace  much  of  its  source  to  the 
fact  that  God  had  given  His  people  some  conception 
of  the  lost  condition  of  men  and  what  the  word 
LOST  really  means.  Jesus  taught  it  when  He  said 
let  your  right  hand  go  and  pluck  out  your  eye  if  they 
stand  in  the  way  that  leads  to  God,  for  it  is  better  to 
be  maimed  and  halt  and  blind  and  be  saved  rather 
than  to  have  any  power  of  body  and  mind  and  be 


REVIVALS    HELPED  137 

cast  into  Hell.  One  has  only  to  read  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  be  stirred  to  the  depths  of  his  soul.  "He  that 
believeth  not  is  condemned  already  because  he  hath 
not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  son  of 
God."  ''  He  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not 
life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."  Thus 
saith  the  Scripture  and  more  solemn  words  were 
never  written.  If  the  Bible  teaches  anything  it  cer- 
tainly declares  that  man  is  hopeless,  helpless,  eter- 
nally lost  without  Christ,  and  must  believe  in  Him 
to  be  saved.  An  understanding  of  this,  however  im- 
perfect, would  stir  the  whole  Church  and  the  result 
would  be  a  genuine  old-time  revival,  God  speed  the 
day. 

4.  When  the  blessing  is  upon  us  I  know  of  nothing 
that  would  more  help  it  on  than  such  personal  effort 
as  is  described  in  the  new  Testament  put  forth  to 
reach  the  unsaved.  It  is  a  great  help  to  one  to  have 
a  prayer  list  on  which  may  be  found  the  names  of 
those  for  whom  he  is  concerned  and  for  whom  he 
prays  by  name,  to  write  a  letter  full  of  concern  is  a 
splendid  thing  to  do,  but  few  things  can  do  more 
good  than  a  personal  visit,  a  warm  hand-clasp,  a 
word  of  encouragement  spoken  from  a  full  heart. 
The  printed  circular  is  good,  but  it  is  a  soulless  thing 
and  worth  but  little  when  compared  with  the  visit  of 
a  man  whose  heart  God  has  touched  and  whose  soul 
longs  for  other  souls  to  know  the  Lord.  Twenty-five 
men  in  every  church  filled  with  this  spirit  could  move 
the  world.  These  are  the  important  helps,  but  the 
following  are  not  to  be  forgotten.  Many  a  meeting 
has  been  injured  if  not  killed  by  the  impure  air  in  the 


138  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

Church  Audience-room.  Insist  upon  it  that  the  air 
be  pure  it  is  a  good  thing  to  open  all  the  windows 
just  before  the  sermon  is  preached ;  it  has  been  well 
said  that  the  Holy  Ghost  cannot  well  work  in  impure 
air.  ^lany  a  sermon  has  not  had  its  full  effect  be- 
cause the  singing  has  been  lifeless;  the  Bible  says, 
**  Make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  Lord,"  a  choir  and 
consecrated  leader  will  double  the  efficiency  of  a  ser- 
vice many  times  and  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that 
where  preaching  fails  many  times  the  sing- 
ing wins  its  way.  The  service  both  for  song 
and  sermon  ought  to  be  brief,  ordinarily  an 
hour  would  be  long  enough  for  both.  The 
after  meeting  following  it  all  is  generally 
the  most  important  part  of  the  service.  This 
is  a  time  for  brief  testimony,  short  prayers,  plain 
explanation  of  the  plan  of  salvation  and  the  most 
personal,  pointed,  persuasive  invitation  to  the  un- 
saved to  accept  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  a  Savior 
It  is  a  time  when  the  most  careful  work  is  to  be  done, 
and  no  one  but  the  Christian  skilled  in  the  use  of 
God's  word  whose  life  is  right  with  God  and  whose 
testimony  is  therefore  of  value  should  be  allowed  to 
work  in  it.  But  above  all  remember  that  in  every 
step  of  the  way  our  dependence  is  upon  God  and 
upon  Him  alone. 


CHAPTER  XII 

REVIVALS  HINDERED 

A  GREAT  many  people  imagine,  since  it  is  true  that 
a  revival  is  altogether  a  work  of  God,  if  it  be  genuine, 
that  nothing  can  hinder  it  if  it  be  God's  will  to  carry 
it  forward.  But  this  certainly  could  not  be  true ;  be- 
cause, while  it  is  a  work  of  God  primarily,  He  has 
always  used  means  for  the  carrying  out  of  his  will ; 
and  if  for  any  reason  the  instrument  is  not  effective 
the  work  certainly  may  be  hindered. 

First  of  all,  the  real  cause  of  hindrance  is  the  gen- 
eral distrust  of  revivals.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  ex- 
ceedingly sensitive ;  and  it  is  not  necessary  that  there 
should  be  violent  opposition  to  such  a  work  to  hinder 
it,  but. only  indifference  and  distrust.  The  curse* 
pronounced  upon  Meroz  was  not  for  any  violent  op- 
position to  God,  but  because  the  people  came  not  up 
to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.  And 
wherever  you  find  a  pastor  distrusting  such  a  work 
you  will  find  one  who  is,  as  a  rule,  a  stranger  to  such 
heavenly  experiences  as  come  to  one  in  the  day  of 
revival.  Wherever  you  find  a  church  any  great  pro- 
portion of  whose  members  seriously  question  the  ad- 
visability of  such  a  plan  of  labor,  you  will  find  a 
church  not  frequently  blessed  with  such  outpour- 

139 


140  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

ings  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  God  has  certainly  prom- 
ised to  give  His  children  and  in  instances  without 
number  kept  his  word. 

The  first  real  step  to  victory  in  the  securing  of  a 
revival  is  a  whole-souled  belief  in  such  a  work.  The 
contrary  would  certainly  be  true,  that  a  lack  of  such 
belief  is  the  first  step  to  defeat. 

The  pastor  iriay  hinder  the  revival,  and  he  may  do 
this  without  in  the  least  intending  it.  The  trouble  is 
not  with  our  living  as  pastors,  for  that,  in  the  main, 
is  right,  but  with  our  preaching. 

1.  It  is  not  always  aimed  at  conversion.  I  do  not 
mean  that  one  should  always  stand  in  his  pulpit  and, 
after  the  manner  of  an  evangelist,  cry  out,  "  Come  to 
Jesus !  "  for  that  sweet  expression  would  lose  its 
sweetness  if  too  many  times  repeated ;  but  I  do  mean 
that  every  minister  should  so  preach  that  the  sur- 
prise would  be,  not  that  people  were  converted  under 
the  influence  of  the  sermon,  but  that  they  were  not, 
and  every  sermon  preached,  upon  whatever  theme, 
should  have  enough  of  the  plan  of  salvation  in  it  so 
that  if  one  should  hear  the  preacher  just  once  he 
would  know  from  that  one  message  what  he  ought 
to  do  to  be  saved. 

2.  We  are  not  enough  in  earnest.  I  would  not 
teach  that  if  one  were  simply  on  fire  with  zeal,  the 
victory  is  won ;  for  the  most  earnest  preacher  the 
world  has  ever  known,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Him- 
self, could  do  no  mighty  works  because  of  the  unbe- 
lief of  the  people ;  but  I  do  mean  that  one  should 
have  the  spirit  of  McCheyne,  the  great  Scotchman 
upon  whom  the  following  criticism  was  passed :   An 


REVIVALS    HINDERED  14^ 

old  Scotch  woman  heard  him  for  the  first  time,  and 
being  asked  as  to  what  she  thought  of  him,  she  hesi- 
tated a  moment,  and  then  said,  ''  The  mon  preaches 
as  if  he  was  a-dying  to  have  you  converted."  And  I 
do  beheve  if  every  man  that  stood  in  the  pulpit  should 
be  possessed  of  a  spirit  like  this  that  the  whole  world 
would  soon  be  throbbing  with  the  power  of  God. 

The  people  may  hinder  a  revival.  It  is  unquestion- 
ably true  that  there  is  to-day  in  many  places  a  dearth 
of  conversions ;  and  whatever  the  explanation  may 
be  as  to  the  cause  of  this,  it  must  certainly  be  true 
that  in  many  cases  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
Church  is  too  closely  in  touch  with  the  world,  and 
not  enough  in  fellowship  with  her  risen  Head.  Some 
one  has  said  that  the  reason  why  the  world  does  not 
join  the  Church  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Church 
has  joined  the  world. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  be  grossly  in- 
consistent to  lose  our  power  both  with  God  and  with 
man.  Paul  wrote,  *'  Come  out  from  among  them, 
and  be  ye  separate,  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing." 
The  emphatic  word  in  the  text  is  "  touch." 

I  remember,  when  a  boy  studying  philosophy,  I 
was  told  that  you  could  not  fill  a  man  with  electricity 
so  long  as  he  stood  on  the  ground,  for  the  electrical 
current  would  pass  through  him  into  the  ground  and 
be  lost ;  but  if  you  would  allow  him  to  take  his  posi- 
tion upon  a  stool  with  glass  legs,  glass  being  a  non- 
conductor of  electricity,  as  soon  as  he  would  touch 
the  electrical  current,  instantly  he  would  be  filled 
with  it  to  overflowing;  but  if,  when  he  were  in  this 
position,  he  should  reach  out  and  touch  a  tree,  or 


142  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

bend  over  and  touch  the  ground  with  one  finger  of 
his  hand,  the  electrical  power  would  immediately 
leave  him, 

Alas,  it  is  because  we  are  in  some  slight  way  in 
touch  with  the  world  that  we  have  been  shorn  of 
our  power,  and  God's  work  has  been  hindered. 

I  had  preached  for  five  days  in  a  Western  city  with 
no  apparent  indication  of  victory,  and  I  had  made  the 
request  that  I  should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  city  and 
turn  my  face  towards  another  field  which  was  white 
already  with  a  harvest.  One  of  the  pastors  asked  me 
to  tarry  for  a  few  days,  for  he  felt  that  he  knew  the 
cause  of  the  failure.  He  sought  out  in  his  office  one 
of  the  prominent  workers  in  the  meetings,  an  old 
man  who  was  a  judge  of  one  of  the  highest  courts  in 
the  city,  w^hose  name  was  on  the  church  books,  but 
whose  life  was  in  many  ways  inconsistent,  and  he 
said  to  him,  "  Judge,  I  have  heard  these  rumors  con- 
cerning you.  If  they  are  untrue,  I  have  come  to  sup- 
port you ;  but  if  they  are  true,  I  have  also  come  to 
give  you  a  brother's  sympathy  and  help."  The  old 
judge  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands  upon  his  desk, 
sobbing  so  that  he  could  not  speak  for  a  moment,  and 
then  said,  "  It  is  all  true  and  more,  and  I  am  the  most 
miserable  man  in  the  city."  They  bowed  on  their 
knees,  and  asked  forgiveness  of  Him  Who  never 
turns  away  from  any  seeking  soul.  They  came  di- 
rectly to  the  afternoon  meeting.  Just  as  I  was  on  the 
point  of  pronouncing  the  Benediction,  the  old  judge 
rose  to  say :  "  My  friends,  I  have  for  a  long  time  been 
a  professed  follower  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  I  have  been 
an  inconsistent  Christian.    I  have  hindered  the  work 


REVIVALS    HINDERED  143 

of  God,  and  stood  in  the  way  of  this  revival ;  and  I 
rise  to  asi*:  your  forgiveness  as  I  have  sought  it  from 
God."  There  was  no  Benediction  pronounced.  The 
people,  with  one  accord,  passed  by  the  judge  to  take 
his  hand  and  speak  a  word  of  sympathy,  and  when 
the  evening  service  came  the  power  of  God  came 
upon  the  audience,  and  no  less  than  fifty  people  ac- 
cepted Christ  as  a  Savior.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a 
work  which  meant  five  hundred  souls  at  least  for 
Christ. 

The  infidelity  of  the  world  cannot  hinder  a  revival. 
The  sinning  of  the  unregenerate  cannot  stay  the 
wheels  of  the  chariot  of  Salvation.  But  the  infidelity 
of  the  Church  and  the  sins  of  God's  children — these 
mightily  hinder  it.  These  are  an  almost  insur- 
mountable barrier. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

REVIVAL  TEXTS  AND  SERMON 

Texts  with  a  Blessing 

The  following  texts  are  submitted  because  God 
has  set  His  seal  of  approval  upon  their  use.  If  we 
are  to  have  a  genuine  revival  in  the  church,  the 
church  must  always  be  addressed  first  in  the  mes- 
sage. For  that  reason  the  texts  to  be  used  in  such 
meetings  are  written  in  their  natural  order.  Special 
classes  to  be  considered  are  here  indicated  with  ap- 
propriate text  for  each. 

Texts  for  the  Church 

"  Rivers  of  water  run  down  mine  eyes."  Psalm 
cxix:  136. 

^^  The  hour  is  come."   John  xvii:  I. 

"  Is  it  well  with  thee?  is  it  well  with  thy  hus- 
band ?  is  it  well  with  the  child  ?  "  I L Kings,  iv :  26. 

"  Thou  canst  not  stand  before  thine  enemies  until 
ye  take  away  the  accursed  thing  from  among  you." 
Joshua  vii :  13. 

"  For  the  time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin 
at  the  house  of  God."   I. Pet.  iv:  17. 

"  What  manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  be?  "  II. 
Pet.  iii:  11. 

144 


REVIVAL   TEXTS    AND   SERMON  145 

"  But  first  gave  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord." 
II.  Cor.  viii :  5. 

"  A  Castaway."    I.  Cor.  ix:  2y. 

"  The  Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for  thee."  John 
xi :  28. 

**  And  being  in  an  agony  he  prayed  more  earn- 
estly: and  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of 
blood  falling  down  to  the  ground."  Luke  xxii :  44. 

*'  Salute  no  man  by  the  way."   Luke  x:  4. 

"  Tell  His  disciples  and  Peter."  Mark  xvi :  7. 
"  Behold,   we   have   forsaken   all,   and   followed 
Thee ;  what  shall  wx  have  therefore  ?  "    Matt,  xix : 

"  As  a  mighty  man  that  cannot  save."  Jer.  xiv :  9. 

''  They  might  be  unto  me  for  a  people,  and  for  a 
name,  and  for  a  praise,  and  for  a  glory:  but  they 
would  not  hear."    Jer.  xiii:  11. 

"  He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise."  Prov.  xi :  30. 

"  No  man  cared  for  my  soul."   Ps.  cxlii :  4. 

Sermons  on  the  Holy  Spirit 

"  Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye  be- 
lieved ?  "  Acts  xix :  2. 

"  For  the  love  of  the  Spirit."  Rom.  xv:  30. 

f  The  Wind.— Acts  ii:2. 

Emblems  of  the      J  ^1^^  A"^,""/^^!'"  ''^^ 
cvi,v,v  .  "i  1  he  Oil.— John  XXV :o. 

:>ptru.  I  yj^g  Water.— John  vii:38. 

LThe  Result.— Acts  i:8. 

{One  Baptism. — Acts  1:5. 
Many  Infillines  —Acts  ii:4. 
Special      Anointinojs. — Luke  iv.l8. 


146  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

"  And,  behold,  waters  issued  out  from  under  the 
threshold  of  the  house  eastward."    Eze.  xlvii:  I. 


For  Women 

"  Her  children  arise  up,  and  call  her  blessed." 
Prov.  xxxi :  a8. 

''  For  how  shall  I  go  up  to  my  father,  and  the  lad 
be  not  with  me  ?  "    Gen.  xliv :  34. 

"  Heaven."    Rev.  xxi :  21. 

For  Young  People 

"  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy 
youth,  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years 
draw  nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
them."  Eccl.  xii:  i. 

"  Whoso  breaketh  an  hedge,  a  serpent  shall  bite 
him."   Eccl.  x:  8. 

"  The  precious  blood  of  Christ."  I.  Pet.  i :  19. 

For  Men 

"  What  wilt  thou  say  when  He  shall  punish  thee?  " 
Jer.  xiii:  21. 

**  How  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jordan?" 
Jer.  xii:  5. 

**  What  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ?  "    Jer.  v :  31. 

"  And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but 
after  this  the  judgment."    Heb.  ix:  27. 

"  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record  this  day  against 


REVIVAL   TEXTS    AND    SERMON  147 

you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  bless- 
ing and  cursing :  therefore  choose  life."  Deut.  xxx : 
19. 

"  For  he  found  no  place  of  repentance,  though  he 
sought  it  carefully  with  tears."   Heb.  xii :  17. 

"  Sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death." 
Jas.  i:  15. 

For  the  Unsaved 

"  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  sal- 
vation ?  "    Heb.  ii :  3. 

'*  Put  that  on  mine  account."    Philemon  18. 

"  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "    Acts  xvi :  30,  31. 

*'  There  is  no  difference."   Rom.  iii :  22. 

"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  John  iii :  3. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost."     Luke  xix:  10. 

"  But  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his  father 
saw  him."   Luke  xv :  20. 

"  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God." 
Mark  xii:  34. 

"  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."   Matt,  xviii :  3. 

The  unpardonable  sin.    Matt,  xii :  32. 

"  He  heard  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  took  not 
warning."   Ezek.  xxxiii :  5. 

*'  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the 
Lord :  though  your  sins.be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as 
white  as  snow."    Isa.  i:  18. 


14^  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

"A  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken."  Eccl. 
iv:  12. 

"  And  David  said  unto  Nathan,  I  have  sinned 
against  the  Lord.  And  Nathan  said  unto  David,  The 
Lord  also  hath  put  away  thy  sin."   H.  Sam.  xii:  13. 

*'  And  we  came  to  Kadesh-barnea."   Deut.  i :  19. 

"  And  he  said,  To-morrow."   Ex.  viii :  10. 

The  following  sermon  is  presented  only  that  it 
may  be  an  appeal  to  the  Christian  people  whose  eyes 
may  light  upon  this  page,  that  they  may  be  stirred  up 
to  duty  for  the  unsaved  around  them. 

Text:  "  No  man  cared  for  my  soul."    Psalm  cxlii : 

4. 

This  text  ought  always  to  be  spoken  in  a  minor 
key.  I  verily  believe  that  when  David  sobbed  it  out 
in  the  cave  it  must  have  been  after  this  fashion. 
There  is  probably  no  man  in  history  whose  life  is  so 
filled  with  real  contrast  as  that  of  the  writer  of  this 
text.  We  study  him  first  of  all,  and  behold  he  is  a 
shepherd.  And  we  turn  over  a  very  few  pages  of  his 
history  and  he  is  transformed  into  a  king.  We  study 
him  again,  and  he  has  blackened  the  pages  of  Old 
Testament  history  with  his  sin.  And  we  have  but  to 
read  a  little  more  and  he  is  changed  into  a 
saint,  charming  us  with  his  life  and  inspiring  us 
with  his  message.  We  look  at  him  from  another 
view-point  and  he  is  a  poet.  The  world  has  had  lit- 
tle poetry  that  could  outrank  the  psalms  of  David. 
And  when  we  study  him  in  poetry  we  are  constantly 
confronted  with  the  fact  that  he  is  a  musician,  and 
all  the  world  has  heard  of  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel. 
We  look  at  him  in  one  place,  and  behold,  he  is  a  pur- 


REVIVAL   TEXTS   AND   SERMON  149 

suer  and  the  hosts,  of  the  enemy,  run  and  cry  and  flee 
before  him.  We  study  him  again  and  the  scene  is 
greatly  changed,  for  he  is  pursued  himself.  And  it 
is  in  this  character  that  we  study  him  in  connection 
with  the  text. 

The  coast  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  very  broken,  and  just 
here  we  find  the  Cave  of  Engedi  with  darkness  so 
dense  that  a  little  way  from  the  mouth  of  it  you 
could  not  see  your  hand  before  you.  It  is  here  that 
David  says,  '*  I  looked  on  my  right  hand  and  beheld, 
but  there  was  no  man  that  would  know  me.  Refuge 
failed  me ;  no  man  cared  for  my  soul." 

It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  to  take  even  a  lit- 
tle of  the  time  to  speak  of  David's  cry,  except  as  it 
is  known  to  be  the  real  cry  of  the  vast  army  of  the 
unsaved  who  are  to-day  without  God,  and  without 
hope  in  the  world.  And,  alas,  sometimes  it  would 
seem  as  if  they  have  a  right  to  say,  no  one  seems  to 
care. 

This  is  all  the  more  strange  when  it  is  known  that 
we  are  not  insensible  to  physical  distress.  I  had  just 
closed  a  noon  meeting  in  the  City  of  Detroit  when  we 
were  startled  by  the  cry  of  fire  as  the  people  hurried 
along  the  streets,  and  it  was  said  that  the  great  Ed- 
son  Moore  Building  was  in  flames.  One  of  my 
friends  who  witnessed  the  conflagration  said  that  for 
some  reason  the  fire  appliances  would  not  work.  The 
elevator  shaft  was  a  seething  mass  of  flame  and  the 
fire-escape  was  too  hot  for  the  men  to  attempt  to  es- 
cape by  means  of  it.  Those  who  were  imprisoned  in 
the  upper  stories  came  to  the  upper  windows.  They 
stood  upon  the  stone  casements  of  the  windows  and 


150  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

shouted  for  help.  They  let  themselves  down  and  held 
on  with  their  hands  crying  for  help;  finally,  when 
none  could  be  given  them  they  let  go  their  hand- 
clasp, shot  down  through  the  air,  and  striking  on  the 
hard  stone  pavement  were  instantly  killed.  And  I 
remember  when  I  made  the  announcement  at  night 
to  a  great  crowd  gathered  in  the  Auditorium,  that 
there  were  little  children  that  night  fatherless,  and 
homes  where  the  wives  were  sitting  with  breaking 
hearts,  there  did  not  seem  to  be  a  dry  eye  in  all  the 
building. 

And  yet,  when  we  realize  that  all  about  us  are  men 
who  are  dead  in  sin,  and  lost  because  of  their  rejec- 
tion of  Christ,  we  seem  to  be  unmoved  and  almost  in- 
\  different.  And  if  you  should  say  that  the  preaching 
in  the  church  is  quite  sufficient  in  the  way  of  an  in- 
vitation, my  reply  is  that  the  unsaved  people  do  not 
think  it  so.  I  remember  a  gentleman  who  became  a 
member  of  my  congregation  whom  I  knew  to  be  un- 
saved, and  to  whom  I  one  day  made  a  visit,  telling 
him  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  never 
allow  any  one  to  enter  my  church  and  stay 
there  for  any  length  of  time  without  I 
gave  him  a  special  invitation  to  come  to  Christ. 
I  told  him  of  his  mother's  concern  and  of 
his  wife's  anxious  thought  for  his  salvation,  and 
when  I  asked  him  to  come  to  Christ,  his  face  sud- 
denly paled  and  the  tears  began  to  run  down  his 
cheeks  when  he  said :  "  This  is  the  first  invitation  I 
have  ever  had  to  be  a  Christian.  I  had  just  about 
made  up  my  mind  that  no  one  cared  for  my  soul." 

1.     Yet  this  needs  a  word  of  explanation  on  behalf 


REVIVAL    TEXTS    AND    SERMON  151 

of  those  of  us  who  are  Christians,  for  in  point  of  fact, 
the  members  of  the  church  are  not  indifferent  to  the 
imsaved  about  them,  but  there  are  certain  reasons 
why  we  have  failed  to  speak,  and  faihng,  have  given 
them  the  right  to  say  in  the  words  of  the  text: 
"  No  one  cares  for  my  soul." 

(i)  The  feeling  of  unworthiness  has  often^ 
sealed  our  lips.  We  know  how  we  have  failed  at  the 
bar  of  our  own  judgment  and  realizing  the  critical 
spirit  that  those  who  are  unsaved  have,  we  have  felt 
condemned  in  their  presence  and  have  been  afraid  to 
ask  them  to  come  to  Him  w^hen  we  have  so  poorly 
represented  him. 

But  let  it  be  known  by  every  Christian  that  if  he 
counts  himself  unworthy  his  unsaved  friend  counts 
him  absolutely  inconsistent  if  he  has  failed  to  ask 
him  to  come  to  Christ. 

I  was  holding  a  meeting  in  a  Southern  city,  when 
a  gentleman  came  to  ask  me  to  pray  for  his  brother, 
who  was  a  professed  skeptic.  "  By  all  means,"  he 
said,  "  do  not  speak  to  him,  but  only  pray."  But  I 
had  already  invited  him  to  meet  me  in  my  room  in 
the  hotel,  and  when  the  business  was  transacted  for 
which  I  had  called  him  to  come,  I  said  to  him,  "  Mr. 
B.,  if  I  could  only  tell  you  all  that  Christ  is  to  me, 
how  He  has  helped  me  in  my  home  and  in  my  whole 
Christian  life,  I  could  win  you  to  Him ;  and  I  should 
like  to  give  you  a  personal  invitation  to  accept  Him 
just  now."  I  took  his  hand  in  mine,  and  he  drew  it 
away  quickly  and  started  for  the  door.  As  he  went 
I  felt  sure  that  I  must  have  made  a  mistake  and  that 
his  brother  knew  the  best.   But  when  he  had  just  at- 


152  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

tempted  to  cross  the  threshold  he  came  back,  and 
reaching  out  his  hand  once  more  he  said :  "I  want  to 
thank  you  for  your  kindness.  I  have  Hved  in  the 
home  of  my  brother,  who  is  an  officer  of  the  church 
and  in  all  the  years  of  my  life  there  he  has  never 
once  asked  me  to  be  a  Christian.  They  say  that  I  am 
a  skeptic  and  it  is  all  but  true  because  of  what  has 
seemed  to  be  the  indifference  of  my  brother.  I 
thought  that  '  no  one  cared  for  my  soul.'  " 

(2)  We  sometimes  fail  to  speak  because  we  do 
not  realize  that  those  out  of  Christ  are  lost,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  Bible  w^e  certainly  know  that  "  he 
that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

Mr.  Moody  tells  the  story  of  the  mother  who 
brought  her  baby  into  an  eye  infirmary  in  Chi- 
cago and  said,  "  Doctor,  there  is  something 
wrong  with  my  baby's  eyes."  The  doctor  looked 
at  them  a  moment  and  gave  the  child  back 
to  the  mother  with  a  solemn  shake  of  his 
head  and  when  she  said,  "  What  is  it,  doc- 
tor?" He  said,  "Your  baby  is  going  blind,  and 
in  three  months'  time  he  will  be  stone  blind."  Mr. 
Moody  said  the  mother  held  her  baby  at  arm's  length 
for  a  moment,  then  pulled  him  against  her  and  fell 
in  a  swoon  upon  the  floor,  crying,  "  My  God,  my 
baby  blind."  It  is  possible  that  we  can  sympathize 
with  her  in  her  grief.  If  while  I  speak  the  door 
should  open  and  a  messenger  should  come  in  to  bear 
me  tidings  that  one  of  my  children  had  suddenly  lost 
his  eye-sight,  and  could  never  see  me  again  in  this 


REVIVAL   TEXTS    AND    SERMON  153 

world  I  can  understand  exactly  what  I  should  do 
and  how  you  would  appreciate  the  depth  of  my  sor- 
row. And  yet,  our  Master  has  said  it  is  better  to  be 
"  Lame  and  halt  and  blind  "  rather  than  to  be  lost ; 
and  without  Christ  men  are  lost. 

(3)  We  have  an  idea  that  men  do  not  care  to  talk 
about  their  soul's  salvation,  and  so  our  lips  have  been 
sealed.  I  have  possibly  the  saddest  testimony  of  any- 
one ;  I  roomed  with  a  man  in  college  for  almost  two 
years;  I  was  a  student  for  the  ministry  and  knew 
that  he  was  not  a  Christian,  and  I  never  warned  him 
once.  At  the  close  of  my  college  course  he  said  to  me, 
''  Why  have  you  never  asked  me  to  be  a  Christian  ?  " 
And  when  I  told  him  that  I  thought  he  did  not  care 
he  told  me  that  that  was  the  reason  why  he  had 
chosen  the  room  with  me,  that  there  had  not  been  a 
day  or  a  night  that  he  was  not  willing  to  talk.  And 
then,  try  as  hard  as  I  would  to  lead  him  to  Christ,  I 
failed.  Another  classmate  won  him  and  a  little  later 
going  to  his  home  in  the  South  he  was  a  victim  of  the 
yellow  fever.  He  is  saved  to-day,  but  will  never 
shine  as  a  "  star  in  the  crown  of  my  rejoicing." 

The  unsaved  people  do  care,  and  they  many  times 
long  for  you  to  speak.  There  are  special  times  when 
we  may  go  to  them. 

(i)  In  the  day  of  trouble.  If  ever  you  can  find 
one  whose  heart  is  aching  seek  him  out  and  tell  him 
of  Christ,  who  alone  can  give  him  peace. 

(2)  In  the  day  of  an  awakening.  If  God  is  sav- 
ing other  people  he  can  save  your  friend ;  it  requires 
no  more  of  the  power  of  God  to  save  five  thousand 


154  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

than  to  save  one.  And  if  He  is  saving  one  it  requires 
all  His  power.  So  bring  your  friends  to  Him  as  He 
is  *'  passing  by." 

(3)  Whenever  God  says  go,  then  go.  I  was  walk- 
ing down  the  streets  of  a  Western  city  with  -one  of 
the  ministers  when  he  stopped  and  said,  "  I've  had  a 
man  on  my  mind  for  many  days.  He  has  not  been  in 
church  for  years-,  but  for  some  reason  I  cannot  get 
away  from  him.  What  would  you  advise  me  to  do  ?  " 
1  I  gave  him  the  rule  that  when  God  said  go  He 
was  preparing  the  heart  for  the  coming  of  his  mes- 
senger. He  turned  about,  and  when  he  reached  the 
house  where  the  man  lived,  behold  the  man  met  him 
at  the  door  and  said  to  him,  "  Doctor  I  have  been 
afraid  you  wouldn't  come,  and  for  all  the  day  I 
have  not  left  the  house."  In  a  few  minutes  they  were 
on  their  knees  in  his  library,  and  a  little  later  the  old 
man  rose  up  saved.  I  was  going  through  the  West- 
ern country  a  little  while  afterwards  and  I  read  in 
one  of  the  Chicago  papers  that  this  old  man  was 
dead.  He  was  one  of  the  principal  merchants  of  the 
city.  A  little  later  I  had  a  message  from  the  minister 
in  which  he  said  that  he  was  in  the  room  when  he 
died,  that  he  sent  a  message  to  me  because  of  the 
memory  of  the  meetings,  and  then  putting  his  arms 
about  his  neck  he  said,  "  I  thank  God  that  you  came 
that  day ;  if  you  had  missed  that  day  I  might  have 
missed  Heaven."  So  this  is  the  rule,  if  God  says  go, 
I  beseech  you  do  not  tarry. 

II.  But  we  could  change  the  text  a  little  bit  and 
it  would  be  true, — the  world  does  not  care  for  your 
soul,  it  can  give  you  money  and  honor  and  power, 
but  your  soul  will  starve  with  all  of  these  things. 


REVIVAL   TEXTS   AND   SERMON  155 

In  one  of  his  books  Count  Leo  Tolstoi  has  given 
the  story  of  the  place  in  Russia  where  it  was  said  that 
a  Russian  peasant  could  have  all  the  ground  that  he 
would  measure  out  from  sunrise  to  sunset.  And  he 
'tells  how  when  the  sun  rose  in  the  morning  a 
peasant  started  on  his  journey  after  the  land.  He 
saw  the  waving  trees  in  the  distance  and  said,  "  They 
shall  be  mine."  He  saw  the  glisten  of  the  lake  be- 
yond them  and  he  said,  "  I  will  take  that  in."  He  saw 
the  fertile  plain  just  ahead  and  determined  that  it 
should  be  his  own,  but  when  he  had  gained  these  he 
lifted  his  eyes,  and  behold,  the  sun  had  gone  beyond 
the  meridian.  Then  he  bent  every  energy  to  reach 
the  starting  place.  The  sun  dropped  lower  and  lower, 
but  he  reached  the  starting  point  just  as  the  sun  went 
down,  and  he  gained  it  all.  But  Count  Tolstoi  says, 
that  when  they  picked  him  up,  he  was  dead.  Whether 
this  story  be  true  or  not,  over  against  it  ought  to  be 
written  the  text,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul ;  or  what 
shall  he  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul?  "  The  world 
does  not  care. 

HI.  Satan  does  not  care  for  your  soul.  He  flat- 
ters and  deceives  until  at  last  you  are  his  prisoner 
and  then  he  mocks  you  in  your  despair,  and  if  when 
you  feel  the  wretchedness  of  it  all,  you  cry  out,  "  Oh, 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me,"  your 
only  answer  is,  his  sneering  one,  and  "  there  is  no 
deliverance,  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the 
world  to  come."    And  Satan  doesn't  care. 

IV.  But  God  cares.  He  cared  enough  to  send 
His  only  Begotten  Son  to  die  for  you,  and  then  to 
send  the  Spirit  of  God  to  make  His  death  both  plain 


156  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

and  powerful.  And  Christ  cares.  He  cared  enough 
to  "  endure  the  cross,  and  to  despise  the  shame  "  to 
give  His  hfe  a  ransom  for  you  and  for  many,  if  only 
by  means  of  His  death  and  His  glorious  resurrection 
you  might  one  day  be  saved. 

And  the  church  cares.  Whatever  may  be  said  of 
individual  churches,  the  church  at  large  does  care 
for  the  unsaved,  and  the  day  will  come  when  all  her 
money,  her  machinery  and  her  membership  shall  be 
consecrated  to  a  world-wide  effort  to  lead  the  lost 
into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Possibly  someone  may  read  this  and  say,  ''  What 
must  I  do  then  to  be  saved?  "  With  all  this  concern 
for  you  the  way  of  salvation  is  easy.  God  does  not 
say,  grow  better,  and  finally  you  merit  eternal  life. 
He  does  not  say,  cut  off  this  sin,  or  that,  and  you  will 
be  a  candidate  for  my  favor.  He  does  not  say,  love 
Me  and  I  will  save  you.  One  of  my  friends  in  the 
West,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  told  me  of  one  of  his 
friends  who  had  a  little  girl  born  deaf  and  dumb. 
The  father  was  very  wealthy  and  never  would  allow 
the  child  to  be  taken  away  from  his  home  that  she 
might  be  instructed.  They  had  a  kind  of  sign  lan- 
guage they  understood  between  themselves,  but  he 
would  not  allow  her  to  go  to  an  institution  to  be 
taught.  He  wanted  to  go  to  Europe  at  last,  and  his 
friend,  the  minister,  suggested  that  he  should  take 
her  to  the  great  institution  for  deaf  and  dumb  chil- 
dren in  the  city  of  J .   This  he  did,  thinking  only 

that  they  could  teach  her  to  talk  on  her  fingers,  never 
realizing  for  a  moment  that  they  could  teach  her  to 
talk  with  her  lips.    But  when  the  year's  absence  in 


REVIVAL    TEXTS    AND    SERMON  157 

Europe  was  past,  the  child  was  told  that  on  a  certain 
day  he  would  come  after  her,  when  with  her  little 
face  pressed  close  against  the  window  she  saw  him 
enter  the  grounds,  she  bounded  through  the  door  and 
down  the  steps  and  along  the  gravel  way,  sprang  up 
into  his  arms,  put  her  lips  close  to  his  ear,  and  said, 
*'  Papa,  I  love  you."  And  my  friend  said,  the  father 
held  her  just  a  moment  out  at  arm's  length,  and  then 
fell  from  weakness  on  the  ground.  They  picked  him 
up  and  took  him  into  the  institution,  and  all  the  day 
long  he  sobbed  and  cried,  ''  I  have  heard  her  speak, 
and  she  loves  me." 

But  God  does  not  say  this  to  you.  He  only  says, 
''  Trust  Me ;  believe  on  Me ;  fully  accept  Me ;  "  and 
"  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as 
white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they 
shall  be  as  wool."    God  cares  for  your  soul. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Parochial  Mission  of  the  Episcopal  Church 

HISTORY 

A  SKETCH  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Paro- 
chial Mission  movement  need  not  go  back  much  more 
than  twenty  years.  Prior  to  1869,  evangehstic  work 
in  this  form  had  been  carried  on,  with  varying  de- 
grees of  success,  in  different  parts  of  this  country 
and  of  England ;  but  the  impulse  which  was  given 
by  the  great  London  Mission  of  1869  may  fairly  be 
said  to  mark  the  beginning  of  what  we  may  call  an 
evangelistic  era  in  the  history  of  the  Anglican  com- 
munion. The  way  had  been  prepared  through  the 
prayers  and  labors  of  men  like  Robert  Aitken  and  the 
priests  of  the  Society  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist. 
These  men  felt,  with  John  Wesley,  the  need  of  some 
quickening  power  within  the  Church  of  England. 
They  saw  how  the  Parochial  Mission  had  become  a 
regular  feature  of  aggressive  work  in  the  Roman 
Church.  They  noted  the  growth  of  the  movement  in- 
France,  from  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  when  it  was  inaugurated  by  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
when  there  existed  committees  of  priests  who  de- 
voted themselves  entirely  to  this  work.    They  saw 

•S8 


HISTORY  159 

how  whole  communities  were  moved  and  stirred  by 
the  .preaching  of  Wesleyan  evangehsts  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Dominican  and  Redemptorist  monks  on 
the  other.  Was  it  not  possible  to  use  such  effective 
instruments  in  the  Church  of  England?  They  be- 
lieved that  it  was ;  and  the  London  Mission  of  1869 
was  alike  an  answer  to  their  prayers  and  a  confirma- 
tion of  their  judgment.  In  that  year,  some  sixty 
churches  in  the  great  metropolis  began  a  general 
parochial  mission. 

From  that  time,  the  Parochial  Mission  has  been  a 
recognized  institution  in  the  Church  of  England. 
The  Church  of  England  Parochial  Missions  Society 
has  a  staff  of  over  tw^o  hundred  missioners,  all  of 
whom,  wath  one  or  two  possible  exceptions,  are  also 
engaged  in  regular  parochial  w^ork.  So  firmly  has  the 
principle  of  evangelistic  work  taken  root,  that  a 
brotherhood  of  mission  preachens  has  been  formed, 
to  devote  their  whole  time  to  this  work.  Men  of  all 
shades  of  opinion  in  the  Church  unite  in  advocacy  of 
this  movement.,  The  bishops  are  a  unit  in  its  sup- 
port, but  notable  advocates  of  the  system  are  the 
Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Bishops  of  Rochester 
and  Truro. 

While  the  mother  Church  was  thus  active,  her 
American  daughter  did  not  fold  her  hands.  There 
were  earnest  men  in  this  country  who  began  to  feel 
their  way  over  rough  places  and  through  much 
darkness  to  safer  ground  and  better  light.  As  far 
back  as  1869,  during  the  session  of  the  General  Con- 
vention in  the  city  of  New  York,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  organize  a  society  for  evangelistic  work.  At 


l60  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

a  meeting  in  Calvary  Church,  stirring  words  were 
spoken  by  earnest  men — Bishops  and  Presbyters.  It 
would  seem  that  the  angel  who  stirred  the  waters  of 
England's  Bethesda  was  troubling  also  the  placid 
waters  of  America's  healing  pool. 

One  immediate  outcome  of  the  New  York  Advent 
Mission  was  the  organization  of  the  Parochial  Mis- 
sions Society  for  the  United  States.  The  Bishop  of 
New  York  is  President,  and  more  than  twenty  of  our 
Bishops  are  honorary  Vice-Presidents,  by  virtue  of 
their  avowed  approval  of  the  work.  We  have  a  staff 
of  more  than  thirty  American  missioners — nearly  all 
of  them  untried  men  before  1886;  but  we  have  had 
abundant  verification  already  of  a  prediction  made 
five  years  ago  by  Dean  Church,  of  St.  Paul's,  Lon- 
don. *'  God  will  raise  up  from  among  yourselves, 
and  from  those  whom  you  least  expect,  the  right 
kind  of  missioners  to  do  your  work."  Under  the  au- 
spices of  the  society  there  have  been  held  some  forty 
missions.  In  no  case  has  a  failure  been  reported.  We 
should  be  ashamed  to  confess  that  any  mission  had 
completely  satisfied  our  aspirations;  but  we  have 
been  blessed  with  a  measure  of  success  beyond  our 
expectations.  One  extract  from  a  letter  from  a  cler- 
gyman, in  whose  parish  a  mission  was  held,  will 
serve  as  a  specimen  of  nearly  all. 

A  presbyter  of  the  Diocese  of  Chicago  writes: 
"  The  results  were  not  short-lived.  Over  a  year  has 
passed,  and,  while  I  looked  for  nothing  remarkable 
or  unusual,  yet  I  can  trace  back  much  of  the  present 
spiritual  Hfe  of  the  parish  to  that  work.  The  men 
awakened  then  have  continued  faithful.    Three  of 


HISTORY  I  6  I 

those  confirmed  soon  after  the  mission  are  now 
valued  vestrymen.  The  meetings  for  men  only 
which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a  chapter  of  the 
Guild  of  the  Iron  Cross,  were  the  beginning  of  a 
good  work  among  our  young  men ;  and  in  a  class  of 
thirty,  which  I  shall  present  for  confirmation  in  a 
few  days,  there  are  seven  promising  young  men  who 
are  members  of  this  Guild.  The  observance  of  Lent 
this  year,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  is  quite  as  satisfac- 
tory as  it  was  last  year,  immediately  following  the 
mission.  I  mention  this  as  an  answer  to  those  who 
say  that  a  reaction  is  sure  to  follow  a  mission.  That 
has  not  been  the  case  with  us." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  PREPARATION   FOR  THE  MISSION 

The  preparation  for  a  mission  is  really  more  im- 
portant than  the  work  of  the  mission  itself.  This 
preparatory  work  cannot  well  be  prosecuted  unless 
certain  conditions  are  favorable.  There  are  some 
circumstances  under  which  it  is  unreasonable  to  look 
for  good  results  from  a  mission.  A  parish  which, 
like  the  Church  in  Sardis,  is  in  a  moribund  condition, 
cannot  be  revived  by  a  mission.  It  lacks  the  power 
to  work  and  to  pray  for  a  blessing,  and  the  best 
efforts  of  any  missioner  in  such  a  field  will  be  futile. 

It  is  not  well  to  hold  a  mission  in  a  parish  where 
the  rector  has  not  been  in  charge  for  at  least  a  year, 
and  so  had  time  to  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
his  cure  in  every  detail.  Disappointment  is  sure  to 
follow  if  there  be  disaffection  between  pastor  and 
people.  A  mission  is  not  a  ''  panacea  for  parish  ill- 
health  ;  it  will  not  ward  off  a  ministerial  failure,  it 
will  not  refill  an  emptying  church."  Indeed,  if  there 
be  any  root  of  bitterness  it  will  be  intensified  rather 
than  allayed,  just  in  proportion  as  the  people  con- 
trast the  strength  of  the  missioner  with  the  defects, 
real  or  imaginary,  of  the  rector.  It  goes  without  say- 
ing, that  the  sole  object  of  a  mission  is  to  produce 

162 


THE    PREPARATION    FOR   THE    MISSION  1 63 

Spiritual  effect ;  and  if  there  be  any  ulterior  motive — 
any  striving  after  a  mere  semblance  of  activity,  any 
hope  of  bringing  the  rector  into  prominence,  or  of 
reaping  material  advantage  by  the  renting  of  pews, 
or  the  lifting  of  a  church  debt — if  there  be  any  such 
aim  or  purpose,  a  blessing  is  impossible.  Any  untrue 
or  sinister  motives  will  be  quickly  discerned  and  dis- 
counted by  the  people.  No  mission  should  be  under- 
taken unless  pastor  and  people  give  themselves  as- 
siduously, with  one  heart  and  aim,  to  the  work  of 
spiritual  preparation  ;  but  a  mission  having  been  once 
agreed  upon  and  appointed  should  not  be  given  up. 
It  should  be  made  a  point  of  honor  to  fulfill  the  en- 
gagement made  with  the  missioner,  who,  in  case  of 
failure,  may  find  it  impossible  to  use  his  time  and 
efforts  in  another  field  where  he  would  have  been 
gladly  received  but  for  his  prior  engagement  with 
the  delinquent  rector. 

We  will  suppose  that  in  any  given  parish  the  con- 
ditions suggested  are  favorable.  There  is  no  friction 
between  pastor  and  people ;  the  wheels  of  parochial 
machinery  run  smoothly ;  there  is  a  Gideon's  band  of 
earnest,  prayerful  men  and  women ;  congregations 
are  fairly  good  ;  baptisms  and  confirmations  respecta- 
ble in  numbers ;  every  outward  indication  favorable. 
And  yet,  there  seems  to  be  a  lack  of  spiritual  power. 
The  Church  is  not  a  centre  of  godly  influences  radi- 
ating throughout  the  community.  The  people  lead 
correct  lives,  but  there  is  a  lack  of  point  and  definite- 
ness  in  their  aims.  There  is  little  spontaneity  of  ac- 
tion ;  their  Christian  walk  is  one  of  outward  con- 
formity to  the  commandments,  rather  than  a  fulfill- 


164  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

ing  of  the  law  in  love.  Their  zeal  needs  quickening ; 
there  are  many  Marthas,  but  few  Marys.  Without 
the  Church  are  large  numbers  who  ought  to  be 
within.  Ordinary  means  have  been  tried,  but  they 
have  largely  failed.  Here  is  the  place  for  the 
extraordinary  agency  of  the  Parochial  Mission.  In 
such  a  parish,  the  right  use  of  the  proper  means  is 
sure  to  produce  good  results.  People  have  only  to 
recognize  and  act  upon  a  law  which  is  invariable : 
that  God  accomplishes  spiritual  wonders,  no  less  than 
natural  effect,  by  means  of  human  agencies.  He  does 
not  need  man's  help,  but  He  graciously  permits  us 
to  be  fellow  laborers  with  Him.  Who  shall  tell  how 
much  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  depended 
upon  the  disciples'  obedience  to  the  command  to  tarry 
in  Jerusalem  until  the  promised  Comforter  should 
come?  Who  shall  tell  how  many  times  of  refreshing 
have  been  hindered  because  the  people  forgot  to  work 
and  pray  for  a  blessing?  God  is  always  ready  to  bless 
us ;  the  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  is  always  an- 
swered, just  when  we  ask  it,  just  how  we  ask  it,  and 
in  just  such  measure  as  we  ask  it.  ''  As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked ;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and 
live."  God  is  not  only  always  ready  and  willing,  but 
always  eager,  to  save  sinners.  There  is  never  a  time 
when  He  will  not  crown  men's  efforts  to  advance 
that  kingdom  for  which  we  daily  pray.  His  love  for 
sinners  never  cools ;  and  He  cannot  give  a  stone  when 
we  ask  for  bread.  Let  men  look  into  their  own 
hearts,  and  then  look  out  upon  the  whole  groaning 
creation  around  them,  and  they  will  feel  the  need  of 


THE    PREPARATION    FOR    THE    MISSION  1 65 

a  blessing,  such  as  the  Parochial  Mission  may  bring. 
The  realization  of  the  need  is  the  first  step  towards 
praying  aright  for  the  consecration  of  baptized  for- 
malism among  us  and  the  conviction  of  open  ungod- 
liness around  us.  Very  great  things  are  promised  to 
those  who  seek  them  in  prayer.  The  greater  works 
which  the  world  is  yet  to  see  will  be  the  result  and 
reward  of  faith.  If  believers  honestly  pray  that 
*'  God  will  raise  up  His  power  and  come  among  them 
and  with  great  might  succor  them,"  they  have 
Christ's  own  assurance  that  that  prayer  will  be  an- 
swered. If  these  words  voice  the  earnest  yearning  of 
only  a  faithful  few  in  a  community,  the  blessing  will 
come.  It  is  Christ  Himself  who  says,  "If  two  of  you 
shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they 
shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven." 

There  are  many  deep  mysteries  about  prayer.  We 
ask  for  life  and  health,  and  temporal  blessings,  and 
God  sometimes  withholds  them  for  our  own  profit. 
We  make  our  plans  and  ask  God's  help  in  furthering 
them,  but  they  come  to  naught,  because  His  ordering 
is  best.  We  may  not  see  the  wisdom  or  justice  of  His 
dealings  with  us  now,  but  it  will  all  be  plain  when  we 
see  no  longer  *'  through  a  glass  darkly."  But  there 
are  certain  facts  about  prayer  which  are  not  mys- 
teries at  all.  Just  as  truly  as  there  is  a  God  who 
hears  the  prayers  of  His  people,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
given  to  those  who  ask.  Are  there  two  earnest  souls 
in  any  community  willing  to  take  God  at  His  word, 
and  to  test  His  promise?  "  Prove  me  now,"  He  says : 
"  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven  and 


1 66  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room 
enough  to  receive  it."  Are  there  "  two  or  three  " 
willing  to  take  God  at  His  word?  Are  they  ready  to 
come  before  Him  with  one  heart  and  one  mouth,  and 
pray  Him  to  ''  strengthen  the  things  that  remain, 
and  are  ready  to  die,"  "  turning  the  hearts  of  the 
disobedient  to  >the  wisdom  of  the  just,"  converting 
sinners,  establishing  the  faithful,  and  restoring  to 
darkened  minds  the  light  of  His  truth?  The  writer 
is  no  prophet ;  but  if  any  two  be  agreed  in  this — these 
are  Christ's  own  words,  not  a  sinful  man's — "  it 
shall  be  done." 

The  first  thing  to  be  emphasized,  then,  after  a  mis- 
sion has  been  decided  upon,  is  constant,  believing, 
earnest  prayer.  It  is  well  for  the  pastor  to  gather  a 
few  of  his  best  workers  about  him,  state  his  purpose, 
and  then  together  lay  it  before  God.  Then  the  mis- 
sion has  begun.  Good  fruit  will  already  appear  in  the 
quickened  devotion  of  these  few.  Then  let  a  public 
announcement  be  made  with  the  request  for  the 
prayers  of  all.  It  is  well  to  have  a  form  of  prayer 
ready  for  distribution.  These  should  be  printed 
neatly  on  slips  of  convenient  size,  but  they  are  not 
for  promiscuous  distribution.  Any  one  who  is  earn- 
est enough  to  pray  will  be  earnest  enough  to  come  to 
the  rector  and  ask  for  a  copy  of  the  prayer.  By  this 
very  act,  the  person  stands  committed  to  use  the 
prayer,  and  the  rector  has  the  great  satisfaction  of 
knowing  who  and  how  many  they  are  who  have 
promised  to  pray  for  the  mission.  This  should  be 
done  from  three  to  six  months  before  the  time  ap- 
pointed  for  the  mission  services  to  begin.      During 


THE    PREPARATION    FOR    THE    MISSION  1 6/ 

these  months,  it  is  well  to  keep  the  matter  constantly 
before  the  people  by  holding  meetings  fortnightly  at 
first,  and  weekly  afterwards,  for  united  prayer.  Let 
these  gatherings  be  as  informal  as  possible.  If  any 
feel  moved  to  use  extempore  prayer,  by  all  means 
give  them  full  liberty  to  do  so.  Let  there  be  perfect 
freedom,  also,  to  speak  as  the  Spirit  shall  give  utter- 
ance. This  interchange  of  thought  may  produce  a 
contagion  of  holy  enthusiasm. 

As  soon  as  the  people  have  begun  to  pray  they 
must  be  set  to  work.  They  must  realize  that  they 
have  something  to  do  with  the  answ^ering  of  their 
prayers.  God  has  committed  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation to  sinful  men,  and  the  stewardship  of  His 
mysteries  to  earthly  vessels.  All  believers  are  mem- 
bers of  a  royal  priesthood,  and  each  in  his  own  way 
has  something  to  do.  He  cannot  relegate  his  work 
to  any  other;  unless  he  does  it,  it  remains  undone, 
and  just  so  far  the  purpose  of  God  is  thwarted. 
Every  one  must  serve  God  in  his  own  vocation  and 
ministry,  and  do  his  part  towards  "  preparing  a  high- 
way in  the  wilderness  for  our  Lord."  To  put  each 
one  at  work,  in  his  proper  place,  will  require  the  best 
tact  and  wisest  generalship  of  the  rector;  but  he  must 
give  to  every  one  some  duty  and  responsibility.  One 
of  the  first  matters  requiring  attention  will  be  the 
music.  Some  hymns  must  be  learned  and  practised 
which  are  not  in  the  Church  Hymnal.  The  mission- 
er's  choice  and  wishes  concerning  these  should  be 
consulted  and  followed.  Let  as  many  volunteers  as 
possible  be  enlisted.  They  need  not  all  be  good  voices 
or  trained  musicians,  but  a  good  and  skilful  leader  is 


1 68 


REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 


a  necessity.  A  few  solos  and  duets  may  often  be 
practised  and  used  with  good  effect.  If  helpers  can 
be  secured  from  other  congregations,  so  much  the 
better.  The  next  step  will  be  to  organize  the  work- 
ers. Let  the  rector  appoint  a  large  executive  com- 
mittee, who  must  be  in  complete  accord  with  him 
and  with  the  missioner,  and  who  shall  have  a  thor- 
ough understanding,  from  the  very  outset,  about 
plans  and  methods.  This  committee  should  be  sub- 
divided in  some  such  manner  as  this : 

1.  A  Visiting  Committee. 

2.  A  Choir  Committee. 

3.  A  Publication  Committee.  * 

4.  A  Finance  Committee. 

The  visitors  should  be  chosen  from  the  most  earn- 
est of  the  workers.  A  map  of  the  parish  should  be 
made  and  divided  into  districts.  Each  of  these  dis- 
tricts should  be  intrusted  to  two  visitors  who  will  go 
together  into  every  house.  Anything  like  condescen- 
sion or  a  patronizing  manner  is  of  course  to  be 
avoided.  Let  the  visitors  leave  cards  of  invitation, 
supplementing  them  with  a  few  kindly  words.  If  the 
people  visited  be  members  of  some  other  religious 
communion,  it  is  well  to  ask  them  to  come  on  the 
strength  of  the  help  which  their  example  and  pres- 
ence will  give.  Let  such  persons  be  asked,  also,  to 
remember  the  mission  in  their  prayers.  The  recep- 
tion which  visitors  will  receive  will  not  always  be 
cordial ;  but  in  no  case  that  has  yet  come  to  our 
knowledge  have  visitors  been  met  with  anything  like 


THE    PREPARATION    FOR    THE    MISSION 


169 


rudeness  or  insult.  One  incident,  in  illustration  of 
this,  may  be  mentioned.  When  it  was  determined  by 
the  rector  of  a  large  and  important  city  parish  that 
every  house  in  the  neighborhood  should  be  visited, 
the  congregation,  at  first,  were  startled. 

Then  lady  visitors  volunteered  to  go  two  and  two 
to  do  the  work.  They  were  warned  that  they  might 
be  insulted,  and  were  advised  to  ask  the  advice  of 
their  husbands,  brothers  or  fathers  before  under- 
taking it.  Not  one  of  them  flinched  or  resigned,  and 
the  result  was  that  they  were  everywhere  received 
with  the  utmost  kindness,  and,  in  some  cases,  grati- 
tude. Some  of  the  persons  visited  declared  that  this 
was  the  first  invitation  to  come  to  church  that  had 
been  extended  to  them  in  America.  The  services  of 
men  may  also  be  utilized  as  visitors  to  distribute 
cards  of  invitation  in  stores,  factories,  shops,  and 
even  in  billiard  rooms  and  saloons.  In  one  parish  the 
rector  and  his  assistant  undertook  this  last  duty 
themselves,  and  were  everywhere  politely  received. 

Some  of  the  duties  of  the  choir  committee  have 
already  been  noted.  If  the  Mission  Hymnal  be  used, 
a  good  supply  should  be  ordered  at  once.  The  great 
majority  of  the  people  will  prefer  to  have  their  own 
copies,  and  they  should  be  furnished  at  cost,  which 
being  so  low,  puts  them  within  the  reach  of  nearly 
all. 

Upon  the  publication  committee  will  devolve  much 
responsibility.  Good  business  men  should  be  chosen 
for  this  work — men  who  understand  the  art  of  ad- 
vertising. It  will  be  of  immense  advantage  to  secure 
the  co-operation  with  this  committee  of  one  or  more 


170  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

persons  connected  with  the  press.  The  courtesy  of 
editors  should  be  used  to  the  utmost  Hmit  short  of 
imposition.  Frequent  local  notices,  a  vigorous  edi- 
torial by  the  rector,  besides  paid  advertisements^ 
should  be  inserted  from  time  to  time. 

A  liberal  supply  of  tracts,  such  as  are  named  in 
the  appendix,  should  be  circulated,  and  copies  kept 
constantly  in  the  vestibule  of  the  church.  They 
should  also  be  left  in  good  quantity  in  hotel  offices, 
reading-rooms,  counting-rooms,  the  post-office, 
banks  and  everywhere  that  they  will  be  likely  to  be 
picked  up  and  read.  The  members  of  this  commit- 
tee should  be  prepared  at  all  times  to  give  printed 
copies  of  the  letters  which  the  Bishop,  missioner  or 
rector  or  all  of  'them,  may  have  addressed  to  the  peo- 
ple. They  will  see  to  it  that  well-displayed  posters 
are  hung  in  conspicuous  places.  This  should  be  be- 
gun at  least  two  weeks  before  the  mission,  and  sys- 
tematically and  thoroughly  carried  out.  Other  means 
of  advertising  will  occur  to  the  committee  but  some 
forms  for  those  already  suggested  will  be  found  in 
the  appendix. 

The  work  of  the  finance  committee  will  not  gen- 
erally be  arduous.  As  f^r  as  possible,  questions 
about  ways  and  means  for  raising  money  should  be 
kept  in  the  background.  Sometimes  the  vestry  will 
feel  justified  in  authorizing  the  expenditure  of  a 
given  amount ;  sometimes  a  few  individuals  will  as- 
sume all  responsibility.  In  one  case,  a  single  member 
of  the  vestry  gave  the  rector  carte  blanche  for  the 
expenses  of  the  mission,  and  in  addition  demon- 
strated his  interest  by  forbidding  his  agent  to  let 


THE    PREPARATION    FOR   THE    MISSION         l7  ^ 

the  Opera-house,  which  he  owned,  for  any  entertain- 
ment while  the  mission  lasted.  Such  cases,  of  course, 
are  rare;  so  that  the  hest  encouragement  for  any 
people  contemplating  a  mission  is  furnished  by  the 
experience  of  a  parish  which  may  be  cited  here.  The 
rector  appointed  a  finance  committee  with  the  dis- 
tinct understanding  that  they  were  not  to  solicit  sub- 
scriptions from  any  one.  They  were  simply  to  re- 
ceive, account  for  and  disburse  such  free-will  offer- 
ings as  should  be  placed  in  their  hands.  No  one  was 
asked  to  pledge  anything.  No  collections  were  taken. 
A  box  was  placed  in  the  vestibule  of  the  church,  in 
which  voluntary  gifts  were  deposited.  The  parish 
was  one  of  between  three  and  four  hundred  commu- 
nicants in  a  city  of  some  thirty-five  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. The  total  expenses  were  something  like  one 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  and  the  total  receipts 
about  two  dollars  more.  The  largest  sum  given  by 
any  one  person  was  five  dollars.  Broadly  speaking, 
there  need  be  no  anxiety,  in  any  parish,  on  the  score 
of  expense.  Any  venture  of  faith,  short  of  absolute 
presumption,  will  be  abundantly  rewarded.  A  mis- 
sion need  cost  but  very  little ;  on  the  other  hand,  a 
large  outlay  may  wisely  and  prudently  be  made.  The 
main  expenses  are  those  of  advertising  and  the  en- 
tertainment of  the  missioner.  To  this  must  be  added 
the  miissioner's  traveling  expenses,  which,  of  course, 
will  depend  upon  the  distance  which  he  is  obliged  to 
come.  The  missioners  of  the  Parochial  Missions 
Society  are  strictly  forbidden  to  receive  any  com- 
pensation whatever,  or  any  present  in  recognition 
of  their  services.    In  general  it  may  be  said  that  no 


172  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

parish,  where  there  is  a  reasonable  prospect  of  hold- 
ing a  profitable  mission,  need  be  deterred  by  any  fear 
of  expense.  Wherever  the  experiment  has  been 
tried,  so  far  as  our  observation  extends,  the  people 
have  surprised  themselves  by  the  generosity  of  their 
offerings.  These  different  sub-committees  should 
hold  frequent  meetings  by  themselves,  and  the 
whole  working  force  should  meet  occasionally  for 
mutual  counsel  and  encouragement. 

Is  it  superfluous  to  lay  special  stress  again  upon 
the  necessity  of  constant  prayer?  Every  one  who 
can  should  work ;  but  some  who  cannot  work  can 
pray.  The  absent,  the  sick,  the  disabled,  the  aged — 
let  them  all  pray  unceasingly,  BELIEVINGLY, 
PREVAILINGLY. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CONDUCT  OF  THE  MISSION 

It  is  not  intended  in  this  chapter  to  lay  down 
rules  for  the  conduct  of  a  mission  so  much  as  to  de- 
scribe the  methods  and  plans  which  have  been  pur- 
sued with  the  best  results.  It  is  more  in  line"  with 
our  purpose  to  tell  what  is  done  at  a  mission  than 
how  to  do  it.  No  one  will  understand  the  writer, 
therefore,  as  necessarily  committing  himself  to  every 
detail  of  method  here  noted. 

The  date  for  the  opening  of  the  mission  being  at 
hand,  the  missioner  will  seek  a  preliminary  confer- 
ence with  the  rector  of  the  parish  and  such  others  of 
the  clergy  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  who  may 
co-operate  with  him.  An  hour  or  more  thus  spent  in 
prayer  and  counsel  will  have  a  telling  effect  upon 
the  whole  work  of  the  mission.  Supposing  the  mis- 
sion to  begin  on  a  Sunday — as  most  missioners  pre- 
fer— it  is  well  to  have  an  introductory  service  on 
the  Saturday  evening  immediately  preceding.  This 
will  be  attended  mainly  by  the  workers  and  the  more 
earnest  communicants.  A  simple  form  of  service 
from  the  Prayer  Book,  such  as  will  be  found  in  the 
appendix,  has  been  used  with  great  acceptance  and 
the  most  happy  results.    A  few  words  of  welcome 

173 


I  74  REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 

from  the  rector,  and  a  stirring  setting  forth  of  the 
work  by  the  missioner,  will  serve  to  get  all  "  in 
tune,"  so  to  speak,  for  the  real  labor  of  the  mission. 
It  is  at  this  meeting  that  the  circumstances  are  most 
favorable  for  earnest,  prevailing  prayer  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  will  bless  the  work  undertaken.  Here 
the  people  draw  very  near  to  God,  and  therefore 
nearer  to  each  other.  "  Often  at  such  times,"  says 
the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  ''  the  sentence  of  the 
evangelist  seems  verified,  '  A  cloud  overshadowed 
them,  and  they  feared  as  they  entered  into  the 
cloud.'  And  to  the  mission  preacher  himself  that 
first  meeting  acts  like  the  lifting  of  a  curtain,  or  the 
thawing  of  a  frozen  sea  between  himself  and^  the 
people  he  would  serve.  He  feels  that  in  some  de- 
gree, at  least,  he  has  begun  to  win  their  confidence. 
They  have  looked  each  other  in  the  face,  and  are  no 
longer  strangers.  They  will  all  go  home  to  pray  for 
him,  and  when  the  next  day  he  stands  up  to  deliver 
his  first  message,  some  of  the  seed,  he  is  well  as- 
sured, will  fall  into  prepared  and  kindly  hearts." 

The  usual  order  of  services  on  Sunday  will  be 
varied  as  little  as  possible,  but  by  all  means  there 
will  be  Holy  Communion.  No  matter  what  the  ordi- 
nary rule  of  the  parish  may  be,  there  is  no  cogent 
reason  to  prevent  the  administration  of  this  Sacra- 
ment on  the  Sundays  during  a  mission.  Whatever 
other  variation  there  may  be  will  be  rather  in  the 
way  of  addition  than  alteration.  Sunday  afternoon 
is  generally  the  best  time  for  an  address  to  men  only. 
The  week-day  services  will  be  arranged  with  a  view 
to  local  circumstances  and  conditions,  but  it  is  a  good 


CONDUCT    OF    THE    MISSION  1 75 

rule  to  have  the  regular  offices  of  the  Church  what- 
ever else  may  be  done.  The  most  rigid  rubrician  can 
find  no  fault  with  additional  services  after  morning 
and  evening  prayer  have  been  said.  It  is  the  invaria- 
ble rule  of  the  writer  to  do  what  the  Church  directs 
first,  and  then  to  take  the  largest  liberty  which  is  the 
reward  of  obedience  In  his  missions  he  insists  upon 
having  the  daily  offices,  and  endeavors,  also,  to  ob- 
serve a  daily  celebration.  This  rule  has  never  been  a 
hindrance,  but  always  a  help,  to  securing  attendance 
at  the  other  services.  There  may  not  be  many  at 
morning  and  evening  prayer,  but  there  are  always 
the  "  two  or  three,"  and  these  are  enough,  not  only 
to  obtain  their  own  petitions,  but  to  represent  their 
brethren,  and  so  make  their  worship  a  parochial,  as 
well  as  an  individual,  oblation.  Morning  prayer  is 
followed,  after  a  brief  interval  which  may  be  occu- 
pied in  singing,  by  an  instruction  on  some  point  of 
Christian  living  or  believing.  Where  the  numbers 
in  attendance  warrant  it,  the  form  of  discourse  may 
be  that  of  the  sermon,  but  most  missioners  find  a 
colloquial  style  more  effective,  and  some  emphasize 
their  position  as  teachers,  rather  than  preachers,  by 
remaining  seated  during  the  instruction.  After  a 
half  hour's  teaching  a  collect  is  said,  the  blessing 
given,  and  the  people  permitted  to  withdraw ;  but 
any  who  have  questions  to  ask,  or  further  explana- 
tion to  seek,  are  encouraged  to  remain.  There  may 
be  a  little  reserve  at  first,  but  the  ice  is  soon  broken, 
and  ''  friend  holds  fellowship  with  friend."  Of 
course  there  are  dangers  attendant  upon  this  So- 
cratic  method  of  teaching,  which  only  the  missioner's 


176  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

tact  and  judgment  can  avert.  Foolish  and  irrelevant 
questions  will  sometimes  be  asked ;  some  pedantic 
persons  will  put  a  statement  into  the  form  of  a  ques- 
tion to  which  there  can  be  but  one  answer;  others, 
who  are  of  a  combative  temperament,  will  try  to 
start  a  debate  which  is  fatal  to  all  spiritualizing  in- 
fluence. Moreover,  it  is  just  the  opportunity  which 
"  cranks  "  and  "  the  Lord's  silly  people  "  delight  in, 
to  air  their  pet  hobbies.  Such  persons  have  to  be 
managed  kindly  but  firmly,  and  the  missioner,  if  he 
be  equal  to  his  duties,  will  know  how  to  control  them. 
The  possible  dangers,  however,  are  as  nothing  to 
the  certain  benefits  of  religious  conferences  like 
these.  The  plan  is  that  followed  at  Northfield  and 
elsewhere  by  Professor  Henry  Drummond  of  Glas- 
gow. 

An  afternoon  service,  bright,  short,  and  with  good 
singing,  is  sure  to  attract  the  children,  but  let  it  be 
remembered  that  these  lambs  are  to  be  fed  as  well  as 
the  sheep ;  they  are  to  be  instructed — perhaps  con- 
verted— rather  than  entertained.  Most  of  them  are 
old  enough  to  know  what  sin  is,  and  all  have  need  to 
know  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  When  a  mis- 
sioner finds  that  he  lacks  the  power  to  reach  and  to 
influence  children,  he  had  better  relegate  this  part 
of  his  work  to  another.  In  the  Church  of  England 
there  are  *'  children's  missioners,"  men  whose  whole 
work  is  in  this  line,  and  the  value  of  their  ministra- 
tions has  been  most  amply  attested.  Very  few  can 
preach  to  children  as  Dr.  Richard  Newton  did ;  but 
when  more  of  the  clergy  are  ready  to  work  as  he 
worked  for  the  lambs  of  his  flock,  there  will  be  more 


CONDUCT    OF    THE    MISSION  1 77 

of  our  children  who  will  be  fed  with  **  the  sincere 
milk  of  the  Word." 

The  main  service  of  the  mission  is  at  night.  Even- 
ing prayer  having  been  said  in  the  afternoon,  the 
liturgical  portion  of  this  service  is  very  short.  There 
should  be  nothing  requiring  responses  or  anything  to 
make  a  stranger  feel  conspicuous.  One  passage  from 
Holy  Scripture,  a  few  stirring  hymns,  and  two  or 
three   collects,   altogether   occupying  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  will  be  enough.   Then  follows  the  sermon ;  a 
plain  presentation  of  some  great  truth  to  arouse  the 
impenitent,  the  careless,  or  the  indifferent.     If  these 
people  can  ever  be  induced  to  attend  church,  it  will 
be  during  a  mission.    Properly  directed  efforts  will 
bring  them.    The  parish  workers  must  realize  that 
this  is  the  time  for  their  best  work.    Visiting  must 
not  be  relaxed.   Personal  invitations  must  be  pressed 
more  earnestly.   Ushers  must  be  on  hand  to  welcome 
strangers,  and  give  them    the    best  seats.    A  large 
placard,  with  the  order  of  services,  in  front  of  the 
church,  may  well  be  replaced  by  a  transparency  and 
an  electric  light  at  night.     In    a    city,  *'  dodgers  " 
should  be  handed  to  passers-by,  within  a  radius  of 
several  blocks,  for  an  hour  before  the  service,  in- 
viting all  to  attend.    Sometimes  a  portion    of    the 
choir  will  sing  mission  hymns  in  the  vestibule  for 
twenty  minutes  before  the  service.    Any  method  is 
right,  w^hich  is  not  wrong,  to  reach  those  wandering 
sheep  and  "  compel  them  to  come  in."    If  they  will 
not  come  to  us,  we  must  go  to  them.    We  are  Ma- 
homet ;  they  are  the  mountain.    Missioners  differ  as 
to  the  most  effective  hymns  for  evangelistic  services. 


178  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

Some  confine  themselves  to  the  Church  Hymnal, 
with  an  occasional  voluntary,  perhaps,  from  any 
source,  by  a  solo  singer.  The  general  testimony  is, 
however,  that  for  the  peculiar  work  of  the  mission, 
persons  are  influenced,  who  might  not  otherwise  be 
reached,  by  a  particular  class  of  hymns.  Such  col- 
lections have  been  published,  both  in  England  and 
America,  and  a  most  judicious  compilation  is  that  of 
a  committee  appointed  by  the  Parochial  ^lissions 
Society  for  the  United  States,  published  by  Biglow 
&  Main,  76  East  Xinth  Street,  New  York.  But  to 
return  to  the  mission  service.  The  sermon  ended,  a 
hymn  is  sung,  during  which  those  who  cannot  re- 
main half  an  hour  longer  are  asked  to  retire.  Then 
follows  that  which  needs  the  most  explanation,  but 
is  the  most  difficult  to  explain — the  "  after-meeting." 
It  is  the  most  flexible,  and  therefore  the  most  vari- 
able, appliance  of  the  mission.  Hardly  any  two  mis- 
sioners  use  it  in  precisely  the  same  manner. 

One  aim,  however,  is  always  prominent — to  bring 
the  truth  home  to  individual  hearts  and  consciences. 
The  manner,  rather  than  the  matter,  of  preaching  is 
changed.  The  missioner  may  lay  a^ide  his  surplice 
and  go  down  into  the  aisles.  He  may  stop  and  utter 
a  brief  and  fervent  prayer  upon  his  knees ;  or  he  may 
ask  the  choir  to  interject  a  verse  of  a  hymn.  He  will 
use  pointed  illustrations  or  relate  telling  incidents  to 
elucidate  his  message.  Sometimes  during  this  after- 
meeting,  there  is  intercessory  prayer  for  all  sinners, 
and  especially  for  those  for  whom  requests  have  been 
sent  in.  These  requests  may  be  read,  silence  ob- 
served for  a  brief  space,  and  then  all  unite  in  saying, 


CONDUCT    OF    THE    MISSION  1 79 

"  We  beseech  Thee  to  hear  us,  good  Lord."    Some 
missioners  approach  people  in  the  pews,  and  pray 
with  them  then  and  there.    This    is    Mr.    Aitken's 
method.    Most  American  missioners,  however,  pur- 
sue a  different  plan.    Usually  no  one  is  approached 
personally  during  this  after-meeting.    Many  persons 
will  resent  being  made  conspicuous  in  this  manner. 
The   after-meeting,   therefore,   is  closed,   and   what 
may  be  called  a  second  after-meeting  is  begun.   The 
missioner  has  asked  all  to  retire  who  do  not  wish 
to  speak  to  him  on  the  subject  of  personal  religion, 
or  who  are  not  willing  that  he  should  speak  to  them. 
This  gives  him  a  perfect  understanding  with  those 
who  remain.  He  has  no  "  anxious  seat  "  or  '*  mourn- 
ers' bench ;  "  he  has  used  no  unseemly  constraint ; 
he  has  resorted  to  no  questionable  device  to  bring 
these  people  to  him,  but  here  they  are — a  number  of 
inquirers,  few  or  many,  with  whose  eternal  welfare 
he  must  deal.    Some  can  be  satisfied  easily — a  few 
words  will  suffice ;  others  will  need  a  longer  inter- 
view, and  the  missioner  will  appoint  an  hour  to  meet 
them  individually,  or  perhaps  he  will  have  some  judi- 
cious helper,  clerical  or  lay.  at  hand,  who  will  be 
competent  to  furnish  the  needed  counsel  at  once.  The 
experience  of  missioners   everywhere   is   singularly 
alike  in  this  particular.    At  first  very  few  remain — 
sometimes   none.     '*  Well,"    says     Bishop   Thorold, 
*'  why  be  disappointed  ?  All  hearts  are  at  the  Lord's 
disposal,  and  as  soon  as  it  seems  to  Him  that  you 
can  help  them  by  their  coming  to  you,  be  quite  sure 
that  they  will  come.    For  as  the  week  goes  on,  and 
the  opportunities   are   fewer,   and    the    impression 


i8o 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


deepens,  and  the  arrows  wriggle  in  the  heart, 
they  do  come,  they  must  come,  first  one,  then  an- 
other, until  the  general  and  sudden  thaw  is  like  the 
breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  some  Arctic  river."  The 
writer  has  often  had  none  remain  until  the  middle 
of  the  mission ;  but  after  that  the  difficulty  has  been 
how  to  deal  with  so  many. 

The  most  delicate,  the  most  trying,  and  albeit  the 
most  important  work  of  the  Parochial  Mission  is  the 
individual  dealing  with  souls.  The  missioner  is 
known  to  be  in  the  Church  or  Sacristy  at  certain 
hours  to  give  spiritual  counsel  to  those  who  come  to 
Him.  The  question  is  often  asked :  "  Does  this  mean 
confession  ?  "  Plainly,  yes.  Very  often  it  does.  But 
it  does  not  mean  the  confessional.  Sometimes  an 
anxious  inquirer  will  lay  bare  his  inmost  heart  and 
tell  the  missioner  some  dreadful  secret,  or  ac- 
knowledge some  hidden  sin,  the  burden  of  which  is 
intolerable.  Sometimes  he  will  own  to  an  evil  habit 
or  a  perverted  mind,  and  ask,  "  Who  shall  deliver 
me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  "  Sometimes  an 
active  Christian  whom  everybody  calls  a  saint  will 
own  to  the  neglect  of  prayer,  or  the  cherishing  of 
malice,  or  a  spirit  of  unbelief.  The  missioner  is  sent 
especially  to  just  such  souls.  He  is  God's  appointed 
steward,  commissioned  to  "  loose  them  from  their 
infirmity."  As  a  priest,  he  is  charged  with  two 
blessings — one  of  pardon  and  one  of  peace.  Before 
he  can  say  "  Go  in  peace,"  he  must  say,  "  Thy  sins 
be  forgiven  thee."  If  a  priest  may  say  to  a  thousand 
souls,  "  God  pardoneth  you,"  he  may  say  to  a  single 
soul,  "  God  pardoneth  thee."    This  is  what  every 


CONDUCT    OF    THE    MISSION 


i8i 


missioner  does.  Mr.  Moody  would  do  the  same 
thing.  It  may  be  confession,  but  it  is  not  the  confes- 
sional ;  it  may  be  absolution,  but  it  is  not  penance. 
Some  missioners  may  prescribe  a  set  form  of  auricu- 
lar confession  and  press  it  more  strongly  than  most 
of  us  deem  to  be  either  wise  or  scriptural ;  but  let 
each  servant  stand  or  fall  to  his  own  master.  The 
confessional  is  not  inherent  in  the  Parochial  Mission 
any  more  than  it  is  in  the  Church.  Some  mission- 
ers employ  it,    but  so  do  some  pastors. 

One  result  of  the  private  interview  with  the  mis- 
sioner is  the  taking  of  some  special  resolution,  made 
kneeling  at  the  altar,  witnessed  by  the  missioner, 
signed  in  his  presence,  and  by  him  commended  to 
God.  Restitution  to  the  wronged,  apology  to  the  in- 
jured, renewed  consecration  of  time,  money  or  work 
to  God's  service,  reconciliation  with  those  estranged. 
These  are  some  of  the  resolutions  made  and  kept  by 
those  who  have  been  reached  in  the  Parochial  Mis- 
sion. As  has  been  well  said :  *'  This  personal  heart- 
work  is  the  very  essence  and  substance  of  an  effi- 
ciently conducted  mission ;  and  a  mission  without  it 
would  be  like  casting  the  net  into  the  sea,  and  never 
drawing  it  to  land." 

There  seems  no  better  place  than  this  for  one  sug- 
gestion. In  the  kindness  of  their  hearts,  the  people 
of  a  parish,  where  a  mission  is  being  held,  will  vie 
with  each  other  in  bestowing  upon  the  missioner  the 
most  generous  hospitality. 

There  is  a  good  side  to  this  no  doubt.  It  does 
serve  to  promote  good  feeling.  But  after  much 
thought  and  a  somewhat  extended  experience  and 


1 82  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

observation,  the  writer  is  constrained  to  offer  a  cau- 
tion against  it.  A  missioner  cannot  go  from  the 
natural  and  lawful  merriment  of  a  tea-party  to  the 
solemnities  of  an  evangelistic  service  without  serious 
danger,  if  not  positive  detriment,  to  his  work.  While 
conducting  a  mission,  he  is  in  retreat ;  it  is  much 
more  in  Hne-with  his  work  to  repress,  than  to  culti- 
vate, his  social  instincts.  It  is  often  embarrassing  to 
decline ;  in  some  parts  of  the  country  people  feel 
positively  hurt  unless  the  missioner  will,  as  they  say, 
"  break  bread  "  with  them ;  but  the  general  principle 
holds  good — that  the  missioner  should  be  suffered  to 
order  his  time  and  movements  according  to  some 
fixed  rule  which  ought  not  to  yield  to  a  dinner  or  a 
tea.  The  writer  is  speaking  for  others  as  well  as  for 
himself,  and  pleading  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
work,  when  he  counsels  rectors  and  people  to  avoid 
this,  as  well  as  all  other  merely  social  engagements, 
during  the  mission. 

This  chapter  will  close  with  one  more  quotation 
from  Bishop  Thorold :  ''  It  will  sometimes  happen 
that  just  when  a  mission  is  beginning  to  tell,  the 
time  appointed  for  it  is  over,  and  the  net  filled  with 
fishes  is  in  imminent  risk  of  not  being  drawn  to  land. 
In  such  a  case  let  no  cast-iron  rules,  as  to  the  proper 
length  of  a  mission,  for  one  moment  interfere  with 
the  steady  prosecuting  of  it  for  so  long  as  may  seem 
desirable.  Two  or  three  days  more  may  be  of  all  the 
importance  in  the  world." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AFTER-WORK    OF    THE    PAROCHIAL    MISSION 

The  last  night  of  the  mission  may  be  said  to  be 
the  beginning  of  the  after-work.  It  differs  from 
those  preceding  it,  in  that  it  focuses  results.  The 
rector,  with  the  aid  of  the  missioner,  has  learned  how 
many  have  been  influenced  either  to  begin  a  Chris- 
tian life,  or  to  reconsecrate  themselves  to  greater  de- 
votion and  more  zealous  service.  Some,  who  have 
been  content  with  merely  passive  Christian  living, 
will  volunteer  to  undertake  some  church  work.  Re- 
cruits will  come  into  the  ranks  of  the  various  guilds 
and  societies.  Some  will  seek  systematic  and  regu- 
lar instruction  in  Holy  Scripture.  Some  will  give  in 
their  names  as  candidates  for  baptism  or  confirma- 
tion. Lapsed  communicants  will  seek  restoration. 
Doubters  will  look  for  enlightenment.  These  results 
will  be  known,  at  least,  in  part,  at  the  end  of  the 
mission,  and  the  rector  will  announce,  as  an  occa- 
sion of  thanksgiving,  on  the  closing  night,  the  nature 
of  some  of  these  fruits  which  come  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  the  faithful.  The  next  day,  perhaps,  the 
missioner  leaves  the  neighborhood.  Is  the  mission 
over?  It  has  just  begun.  Now  comes  the  rector's 
great   opportunity,   but   awful   responsibility.      The 

183 


184  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

pilot  has  left  the  ship  and  the  captain  takes  charge. 
Everything  is  in  the  rector's  hands.  The  people  have 
been  with  him  on  a  mount  of  transfiguration ;  but 
suddenly,  when  they  look  about,  they  see  "  no  man 
any  more,  save  Jesus  only  with  themselves."  They 
must  leave  the  blessed  fellowship  and  glorious  vision 
of  the  mountain-top,  and  descend  to  the  dead  level 
monotony,  the  surging  crowd,  and  the  unseemly 
wrangling  of  the  crowd  below.  It  is  a  critical  time. 
The  air  is  full  of  greedy  birds,  ready  to  swoop  down 
and  devour  up  the  seed  that  is  sown.  The  sheep  are 
gathered,  but  not  yet  safely  folded.  The  shepherd 
will  feel  that  he  needs  a  hundred  eyes  and  ears  and 
hands  and  feet.  All  the  wisdom  and  tenderness  and 
love  in  his  nature  must  be  exercised  under  the  sancti- 
fying influence  of  the  grace  of  God.  He  must  know 
now,  if  never  before,  what  it  means  for  a  good  shep- 
herd will  give  his  life  for  the  sheep.  The  people 
must  see  that  the  mission  has  been  a  blessing  to  him. 
Unless  they  feel  that  the  ardor  of  a  new  baptism  of 
fire  is  glowing  in  his  heart,  their  own  quickened  en- 
ergies will  soon  return  to  the  old  torpor.  Classes  for 
instruction,  adapted  to  beginners,  as  well  as  to  those 
more  advanced  in  the  Christian  life,  must  be  organ- 
ized. Some  kind  of  work  must  be  found  or  made  for 
all.  Guilds  and  societies  must  be  modified,  or  per- 
haps instituted,  to  meet  the  new  conditions.  Per- 
sonal counsel,  according  to  individual  needs,  must  be 
freely  given.  The  work  to  be  done  is  simply  bound- 
less, and 'the  rector  who  is  not  prepared  to  do  it,  in 
the  name  and  strength  of  Him  by  Whose  might  he 
can  do  all  things,  had  better  not  have  had  the  mis- 


AFTER- WORK   OF   THE    PAROCHIAL   MISSION    1 85 

sion.     If  he  neglect  that  work,  he  must  expect  to 
find  that  of  many  souls  for  whom  he  must  give  ac- 
count, it  shall  be  said  that  their  last  state  was  worse 
than  the  first.    One  way  to  prevent  the  baneful  ef- 
fects of  a  reaction  is  for  the  rector  himself  to  give 
the  evening  services,  after  the  mission,  an  evangelis- 
tic character.   Let  him  do  this  for  a  time,  at  least.   It 
is  not  necessary,  nor  often  expedient,  to  multiply  the 
services ;  but  let  him  supplement  his  Sunday  even- 
ing sermon  with  an  "  after-meeting."   Do  not  throw 
aside  the  Mission  Hymnal.    Very  hallowed  associa- 
tions are  connected  with  some  of  those  melodies,  al- 
though their  musical   excellence  may  not  be  of  a 
very  high  order.   Let  the  people  know  of  convenient 
times  and  places  to  meet  their  pastor  for  prayer  or 
sympathy  or  help.    A  real  mission  must  be  a  very 
long  one.   It  will  not  end  until  eternity  replaces  time, 
and  faith  gives  way  to  sight,  and  labor  to  refresh- 
ment.  Let  the  work  be  prosecuted  in  this  spirit,  and 
soon  the  faithful  parish  priest  will  realize  one  of  the 
most  comforting  and  blessed  rewards  that  can  come 
to  any  steward  of  the  mysteries  of  God.   He  will  find 
Aquilas   and    Priscillas,    "  fellow-helpers    in    Christ 
Jesus,"   who,   being  themselves   converted,   will   be 
ready  to  "  strengthen  their  brethren."    Those  who 
began  by  inquiring  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?  " 
will  now  ask  :  ''  What  may  I  do  to  save  others?  "  One 
Greek  word,  which  we  render,  **  minister,"  in  Acts 
xxvi :   16,  canpetns,  which  is  literally    an    "  under- 
rower,"  one  who  acts  under  the  authority  of  the  pilot 
— a  common  sailor ;  and  it  is  still  more  suggestive 
that  one  of  the  words  which  is  six  times  rendered 


i86 


REVIVALS   AND   MISSIONS 


"  Preach,"  in  the  New  Testament  XaUoo,  literally 
^'  to  babble."  While  the  priest's  lips  should  keep 
knowledge,  does  not  He  who  ''  out  of  the  mouths  of 
babes  and  sucklings  hath  perfected  praise,"  bless  the 
"  babbling  "  of  an  "  under-rower,"  and  make  it  the 
preaching  of  His  Word?  Does  any  one  who  knows 
the  work  of  Jerry  McAuley  need  any  other  answer 
to  this  question  than  the  mention  of  his  name?  Or  if 
this  be  a  shock  to  '*  good  church-men,"  it  will  serve 
our  purpose  just  as  well  to  recall  that  other  "  under- 
rower,"  who  would  not  have  shrunk  from  pulling  in 
the  same  boat  with  Jerry  McAuley,  the  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury. 

The  Parochial  -Mission  will  do  its  best  when  we 
know  how  to  use  the  tongues  as  well  as  the  hands 
and  the  dollars  of  the  laity.  Until  that  time  comes 
we  may  not  hope  to  reach  the  masses  by  the  Paro- 
chial Mission  or  any  other  instrument.  When  we 
preach  as  the  Pentecostal  Christians  preached,  we 
m.ay  live  as  they  lived,  and  evangelize  as  they  evan- 
gelized. If  the  masses  are  without,  what  wonder? 
Does  not  God  know,  can  we  not  see,  that  there  is  no 
place  for  them  within?  What  should  we  do  with 
them  if  any  great  numbers  from  the  haunts  of  pov- 
erty and  crime  were  to  throng  our  churches?  How 
should  we  meet  these  our  brethren?  With  a  ring 
and  the  best  robe  ?  There  is  a  grim  satire  in  the  very 
thought. 

The  "  spirit  of  the  age  "  may  be  dead  against  what 
has  been  advocated.  Be  it  so.  It  may  be  all  the  more 
the  spirit  of  Christ.  It  may  be  chimerical  to  hope 
that  anything  will  ever  bring  many   Christians   to 


AFTER-WORK   OF   THE   PAROCHIAL    MISSION    1 8/ 

such  a  mind  and  temper  as  that  suggested.  It  may 
be  Quixotic  to  beHeve  that  such  a  time  will  ever 
come.  Be  it  so.  It  is  the  only  hope,  the  only  faith, 
in  which  we  may  have  any  sure  confidence  that  the 
Lord  "  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be 
satisfied.'' 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CATHOLIC  MISSIONS 

The  holding  of  special  missions  for  the  reaching 
of  those  not  identified  with  the  Catholic  Church  has 
the  sanction  and  support  of  the  Church  and  the  cor- 
dial sympathy  and  help  given  the  missioners  by  au- 
thorities may  well  rebuke  the  Protestants  often- 
times because  of  their  lack  of  sympathy  not  only 
but  their  positive  opposition  to  revivals  or  missions. 

Yet  while  emphasizing  the  work  of  the  missioner, 
the  Church  most  clearly  states  that  every  Priest  is 
to  be  constantly  seeking  for  souls.  A  clear  state- 
ment of  this  fact  is  presented  in  an  article  written  by 
Rev.  Walter  Elliott  in  The  Missionary. 

Sometimes  we  hear  things  said  which  indicate  a 
doubt  as  to  the  capability  of  diocesan  priests  for  mis- 
sionary work  with  non-Catholics.  The  parish  clergy 
are  often  supposed  to  be,  by  both  training  and  tem- 
perament, unfitted  for  addressing  non-Catholics  in 
public.  As  to  training  before  ordination,  there  is  no 
essential  difference  between  that  of  a  missionary  and 
that  of  a  parish  priest.  Both  are  to  be  Catholic 
priests  and  must  be  similarly  educated ;  God  has 
made  the  entire  priesthood  apostolic.  Zeal  for  souls 
is  its  fundamental  trait. 

i88 


CATHOLIC    MISSIONS 


189 


Every  priest  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  at  least 
a  missionary  of  prayer.  He  cannot  say  Mass  with- 
out daily  renewing  his  offering  of  himself  with  his 
great  High-Priest  for  all  the  faithful,  living  and 
dead,  and  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  There  are 
not  two  kinds  of  Mass,  one  for  the  missionaries  and 
the  other  for  the  parish  clergy ;  and  as  it  is  the  Mass 
that  makes  the  priesthood,  the  same  is  one  and  in- 
divisible. 

Hence,  with  the  utmost  propriety  our  parish 
priests  in  America  and  England  and  Canada  and 
Australia  are  called  *'  priests  on  the  mission,"  and 
no  missionaries  to  the  heathen  can  show  more  de- 
voted zeal  than  is  often  found  among  our  clergy  en- 
gaged in  the  '*  ordinary  "  care  of  souls — if  the  care 
of  immortal  destinies  can  ever  be  called  an  ordinary 
vocation. 

Of  course  we  would  not  say  or  hint  that  there  is 
no  special  grace  and  vocation  for  community  priests, 
or  that  the  Church  of  God  could  dispense  with  their 
services ;  above  all,  in  the  making  of  converts  they 
have  a  place  second  to  none.  We  would  not  abate  in 
the  least  degree  from  the  high  estimate  of  them  uni- 
versally entertained.  But  it  is  necessary  to  duly  ap- 
preciate the  office  of  the  bishops  and  their  priests,  no 
less  in  the  making  of  converts  than  in  the  daily  care 
of  the  whole  flock  of  Christ. 

The  parish  clergy  are  the  greatest  part  of  the 
standard  priesthood  of  God's  religion.  To  them  the 
mass  of  the  faithful  look  for  everything,  except  con- 
firmation from  the  bishop  and  the  very  infrequent 
spiritual  exercises  of  a  **  mission,"  itself  an  auxiliary 


IQO  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

work  in  every  meaning  of  the  term,  calculated  to 
deepen  the  waters  of  the  stream  of  grace  which  flows 
unceasingly  through  the  divine  channels  of  the  par- 
ish organization.  The  best  mission  will  hardly  save 
a  parish  served  by  an  incompetent  resident  priest; 
on  the  other  hand,  an  efficient  resident  priest  can  en- 
tirely save  his  parish  in  spite  of  unsuccessful  mis- 
sions, though  much  more  easily  with  the  aid  of  a 
good  mission  given  once  in  several  years. 

And  as  the  training  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
priesthood  are  one,  whether  for  religious  or  diocesan 
priests — the  sacred  learning  and  the  all  holy  sacri- 
fice being  identical,  the  Gospel  and  the  Mass  being 
one — so  is  the  priestly  heart  one,  that  heart  that 
throbs  with  love  for  the  *'  other  sheep."  If  a  parish 
priest  is  equal  to  his  vocation,  he  never  forgets  non- 
Catholics  in  his  ministrations,  he  never  forgets  any 
immortal  soul  within  his  reach.  He  stands  for 
Christ,  and  with  Him  he  often  says  to  himself, 
**  Other  sheep  I  have  who  are  not  of  this  fold ;  them 
also  must  I  bring."  He  always  has  at  least  a  few 
men  and  women  under  instruction,  he  always  knows 
a  few  others  w^ho  are  half  converted  and  whom  he 
cultivates  and  finally  will  bring  in.  Da  mihi  animas 
is  the  universal  priestly  motto ;  Give  me  souls  is  the 
prayer  always  uttered  by  the  sacerdotal  heart.  Let 
a  priest  but  feel  that  noble  thirst,  and  he  becomes  in 
time  the  strongest  character,  the  ruling  spirit  in  his 
town,  and  is  as  masterful  to  save  non-Catholics  as 
to  make  perfect  the  lives  of  Catholics. 

The  great  vow  of  the  priesthood,  linking  earth  to 
heaven  in  priestly  sanctity  and  making  of  the  men 
of  the  altar  heroes  of  Christian  self-denial,  makes 


CATHOLIC    MISSIONS  IQI 

them  true  orators  also  by  cleansing  their  lips  and 
hearts  with  the  fire  of  holy  mortification.  No  speaker 
can  compare  with  him  who  has  learned  the  art  of 
persuasion  from  the  Teacher  of  the  tabernacle.  The 
uses  of  this  highest  training  are  expended  currently 
by  the  parish  clergy  upon  the  faithful,  both  in  the 
confessional  and  from  the  pulpit,  as  well  as  in  the 
sick-room  and  by  private  admonition  of  sinners.  But 
there  is  an  unexpended  surplus  of  convincing  force 
in  every  priest's  heart,  that  divine  depositary  of 
God's  treasures.  Let  him  use  it  upon  non-Catholics, 
and  in  order  to  do  so  more  efficaciously,  let  him 
notify  his  people  that  their  priest  is  at  the  service  of 
their  separated  brethren,  not  to  hammer  them  with 
abuse  but  to  draw  them  gently  along  in  the  odor  of 
the  ointments  of  the  Divine  Bridegroom. 

Every  one  knows  that  when  God's  priest  speaks  of 
God  it  is  a  different  thing  from  any  one  else's  speech 
about  God :  it  is  the  lion-voice  calling  to  penance  and 
shaking  the  desert  of  the  human  heart,  or  it  is  the 
mother- voice  appealing  to  the  wayward  child,  en- 
ticing it  to  a  return  of  love.  The  voice  of  a  Prot- 
estant minister  is  too  often  the  shout  of  a  fanatic  or 
the  babble  of  a  worldling,  and  it  is  never  more  than 
that  of  one  who  has  not  been  sent.  Our  Catholic 
priests  are  sent  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  win  souls, 
and  they  have  His  approval  in  every  word  they  say 
for  truth  and  virtue. 

Low  views  of  the  vocation  of  the  parish  priest 
hurt  the  missionary  spirit.  A  limited  horizon  of  use- 
fulness and  a  petty  ambition  to  pick  up  the  pennies 
and  show  a  well-balanced  account  to  the  bishop,  this 
and  only  this,  is  sometimes  set  as  the  end  of  sacerdo- 


192  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

tal  energy.  Pennies  and  the  getting  of  them  have, 
let  us  admit,  much  to  do  with  God's  work,  because 
that  work  must  be  properly  housed  in  church  and 
school  and  freed  from  debt.  But  the  family  of  God 
is  before  his  house ;  souls  are  to  be  got  as  the  main 
work*,  and  every  other  work  must  help  this  one  on  or 
fall  into  the  black  list  of  vain  works. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  may  be  accomplished 
by  individual  effort  and  how  missions  may  be 
started,  the  following  illustration  is  given,  it  is  cer- 
tainly suggestive  for  every  Christian,  who  would  be 
used  by  God  to  save  the  lost : 

"  Mrs.   is   now   comfortably   married.     She 

was  born  and  brought  up  in  a  Western  town  where 
there  were  but  few  Catholics,  and  they  of  the  hum- 
bler sort,  and  no  Catholic  church.  Her  parents  were 
the  one  Catholic  family  of  any  social  distinction  in 
the  whole  county.  Among  the  non-Catholics  of  the 
town  there  was  considerable  wealth,  a  very  great 
reaching  out  for  society  refinements,  and  a  remarka- 
ble ignorance  of  the  teachings  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  as  well  as  an  abhorrence  of  all  that  she  stood 
for. 

As  a  girl  Mrs.  was  sent  to  a  convent  school 

in  a  distant  city,  but  when  she  came  home  for  her 
vacation  and  after  she  was  graduated  she  was  made 
to  feel  the  isolation  of  her  position  as  a  Catholic, 
while  at  the  same  time  she  marvelled  at  the  rooted 
prejudices  and  strange  misconceptions  her  lady 
friends  had  concerning  the  Church.  So  she  deter- 
mined as  soon  as  the  opportunity  offered  to  cause 
the  truth  to  be  taught  among  her  towns-people. 


CATHOLIC    MISSIONS  193 

She  now  is  comfortably  married  and  has  at  her 
command  some  money,  so  she  determined  to  begin 
an  apostolate  in  her  native  town.  She  secured  the 
tax-Hst  of  the  place  and  sent  it  to  the  Catholic  Book 
Exchange,  with  instructions  to  mail  a  couple  of  leaf- 
lets explanatory  of  Catholic  doctrine  to  each  name 
on  the  list  successively  for  a  decade  of  weeks.  While 
the  leaven  of  these  truths  was  creating  a  ferment  she 
arranged  for  a  non-Catholic  mission  in  the  opera 
house. 

The  missionaries  ''  billed  the  town,"  saw  the 
editors  of  the  local  papers,  and  then  opened  the 
doors  to  the  crowds.  They  did  come.  They  did  ask 
plenty  of  questions.  They  did  display  considerable 
interest. 

In  a  week  the  mission  was  over,  and  the  mission- 
aries had  sowed  the  good  seed  and  left  for  other 
fields.  Rumor  has  it  that  many  are  still  wondering 
where  they  got  such  false  notions  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  others  are  inquiring  more  deeply  into 
Catholic  doctrine ;  others  have  been  so  deeply  im- 
pressed that  they  are  determined  not  to  drop  the 
matter  just  here. 

This  is  the  simple  story  of  how  that  non- 
Catholic  mission  came  about,  and  what  the  results 
of  it  were. 

In  order  that  a  mission  may  be  before  us,  we  have 
taken  from  the  ''  Catholic  World,"  the  monthly  pub- 
lished by  the  Paulist  Fathers  in  New  York  City,  the 
account  by  Rev.  Walter  Elliott,  C.  S.  P.,  of  a  mis- 
sion which  was  certainly  not  only  a  success,  but 
most  suggestive. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE    STORY   OF   A    [cATHOLIc]     MISSION 

When  the'time  came  for  a  mission  in  St.  Paul's 
parish,  New  York  City,  the  Fathers  were  naturally 
anxious  to  make  it  a  thorough  one.  We  felt  that  no 
change  in  the  old  style  of  mission,  as  far  as  the 
main  features  are  concerned,  would  be  beneficial.  To 
preach  the  end  of  man,  and  to  tell  how  man's  soul  is 
wrecked  and  saved,  must  ever  be  the  purpose  of  a 
mission.  Now,  the  Exercises  of  St.  Ignatius  most 
perfectly  methodized  the  meditation  of  these  eternal 
truths,  and  St.  Alphonsus,  prince  of  modern  mis- 
sionaries, most  perfectly  fitted  them  to  the  wants  of 
the  people.  So  the  old  mission  stands  as  the  new  one 
and  the  best  one. 

But  yet  a  mission  is  capable  of  progress  in  its 
adaptation  to  novel  conditions  of  the  people,  and  its 
grasp  of  new  opportunities  for  general  good,  such  as 
the  use  of  the  press  and  of  other  means  of  advertis- 
ing. Thus,  the  best  mission  is  the  one  which  rever- 
ently preserves  traditional  methods,  while  eagerly 
seeking  new  means  of  making  them  more  effica- 
cious. 

St.  Paul's  parish  being  typically  urban  in  its  char- 
acter, a  thorough-going  visitation  was  necessary. 
The  people  of  city  parishes  enjoy  but  a  minimum  of 

194 


THE    STORY   OF   A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION        195 

that  powerful  means  of  grace,  personal  acquaintance 
with  the  parish  clergy.  "  I  know,  mine  and  mine 
know  me  "  can  only  be  said  by  the  city  pastor  in  an 
official  sense.  Hence  many  souls  are  lost  for  want  of 
personal  care ;  hence  the  sacraments  are  too  often  but 
oases  in  a  desert  of  vice — a  yearly  or  half-yearly 
breathing-time  in  an  otherwise  habitual  state  of  sin. 
The  visitation  of  the  parish  for  the  purpose  of  hunt- 
ing up  hardened  sinners  and  of  interviewing  every 
man  and  woman  on  religious  matters,  and  (some- 
thing very  important!)  to  be  interviewed  in  turn,  is 
a  prerequisite  for  a  spiritual  renewal  like  a  mission. 

The  missionaries  spent  many  days,  and  especially 
many  evenings,  before  the  opening  Sunday  in  the 
visitation,  often  returning  several  times  to  the  same 
family.  During  the  earlier  weeks  of  the  mission  the 
names  of  obstinate  sinners  were  constantly  being 
handed  in,  and  these  were  sought  after  again  and 
again,  with  the  best  results.  In  a  word,  the  Apostol- 
ate  of  Shoe-leather  preceded  that  of  the  living  word 
in  the  pulpit  and  the  sacramental  word  in  the  con- 
fessional. We  think  that  the  visitation  was  the  most 
potent  cause  (apart  from  the  unseen  and  uncalcula- 
ble  influence  of  divine  grace)  of  the  great  success  of 
the  mission.  It  set  everybody  talking,  it  brought  the 
priest  into  every  family,  it  was  an  offering  of  some 
extra  hard  work  on  the  part  of  the  clergy  and  of 
practical  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  devout  laity. 

At  the  same  time  as  the  visitation  began  the  help 
of  the  Apostolate  of  the  Press.  The  subjoined  card 
was  distributed  personally  by  the  Fathers  during 
their  excursions  through  the  parish : 


196  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

A  FOUR  WEEKS'  MISSION 

WILL  BE  GIVEN  IN  THE 

CHURCH  OF  THE  PAULIST  FATHERS, 

Beginning  Sunday,  Jan.  9,  and  ending  Sunday,  Feb.  6. 

Opening  Sermon  at  the  High  Mass,   Sunday, 
January  9. 

ALL  ARE  INVITED. 

EVERY   PARISHIONER    IS    EXPECTED   TO   ATTEND    AND    MAKE   THE 

MISSION. 

1st  w^eek,  beginning  January  9,  for  the  Married  Women. 
2d  week,  beginning  January  16,   for  the  Unmarried  Wo- 
men. 
3d  week,  beginning  January  23,  for  the  ^Married  Men. 
4th  week,  beginning  January  30,  for  the  Single  Men. 

hours  of  services. 

Night  Service  at  7 130  p.  m.  Instruction,  Rosary,  Sermon, 
and  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

morning  services. 

5  A.  M.  Mass  and  Instruction. 
8  A.  M.  Mass  and  Instruction. 

Important  Notice. — On  Sunday,  January  16.  the  first  Mass 
will  be. at  5  o'clock  instead  of  5:30,  and  so  continue 
every  Sunday  until  further  notice. 

A  MISSION  TO  NON-CATHOLICS 

WILL  BE  GIVEN  DURING  THE  WEEK 

Beginning  Sunday,  February  6. 
Services  every  evening  at  7 :30. 


THE    STORY    OF    A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION        197 

Prayer. 

O  Lord  Jesus !  who  didst  suffer  and  die  upon  the  Cross 

for  the  redemption  of  all  mankind,  we  beseech  thee  to 
look  down  with  Thy  tender  eyes  of  pity  upon  all  the  mem- 
bers of  this  parish.  Send  down  Thy  Holy  Spirit  into  the 
hearts  of  all — that  the  good  ones  amongst  us  may  become 
better,  that  the  sinners  may  be  converted,  and  that  the  care- 
less and  indifferent  may  be  enlightened,  so  thai  all  may 
be  prepared  for  the  coming  of  Thy  missioners,  and  that 
there  will  be  a  complete  and  thorough  outpouring  of  Thy 
Holy  Spirit  amongst  us  all. — Amen. 

Non-Catholics    are    Invited   to    Attend   the    Catholic 

Mission. 

We  earnestly  ask  every  member  of  our  parish  to  take 
the  interest  in  the  Mission  that  it  deserves.  It  appeals 
to  you  especially,  for  it  concerns  your  soul.  Behold  now 
is  the  acceptable  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.  It  ap- 
peals to  you  because  of  the  love  you  should  have  for  your 
neighbor.  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  are  your  neighbors. 
Urge  them  to  make  the  Mission.  The  best  thing  you  can 
do  for  the  New  Year  is  to  make  the  Mission  yourself  and 
try  to  get  your  friends  to  make  it. 

Many  thousands  of  these  invitations  were  thus 
handed  around  by  the  priests  themselves,  and  were 
soon  everywhere  in  the  hands,  the  pockets,  and  the 
prayer-books  of  the  people.  Meantime,  of  course, 
carefully  framed  annoimcements  were  made  at  all 
the  ]\Iasses  for  some  Sundays  beforehand  and  pub- 
lic prayers  were  offered.  The  monthly  parish  Calen- 
dar contained  extended  and  thoughtfully-worded 
exhortations,  and  the  daily  papers  were  induced  to 
print  brief  notices.  A  big  sign  was  fixed  above  the 
main  entrance  to  the  church,  changing  from  week 


198  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

to  week,  and  attracting  the  attention  of  the  ceaseless 
tide  of  humanity  surging  about  the  corners  and  upon 
the  platforms  of  the  adjacent  elevated  railroad  sta- 
tion— a  fact  which  accounts  for  many  who  are  not 
parishioners  making  the  mission. 

The  division  of  the  exercises  into  four  weeks  was 
a  necessity.  Each  week  the  church,  great  as  it  is, 
was  filled  twice  every  day,  at  5  a.  m.  and  at  the 
evening  service. 

The  grand  total  of  the  four  weeks'  mission,  in- 
cluding children,  was  over  13,000;  indeed  it  went 
considerably  beyond  that  number  if  we  count  those 
who  straggled  in  to  the  Sacraments  during  three  or 
four  weeks  after  the  close.  The  count  was  entirely 
accurate,  each  of  the  penitents,  exclusive  of  "  re- 
peaters," receiving  the  Paulist  Remembrance  leaflet, 
by  which  means  the  totals  were  computed.  We  give 
herewith  a  copy : 

Put  this  in  your  Prayer-Book  and  keep  it  as 
A  REMEMBRANCE  OF  THE  MISSION 

OF   THE 

Paulist  Fathers. 

O  MY  soul!  never  forget  those  happy  days  when  you 
were  so  sincerely  converted  to  God.  Never  forget  the 
promises  you  then  made  to  God  and  your  Father  Con- 
fessor. 

O  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  !  hurning  with  love  for  me, 
inflame  my  heart  with  love  for  Thee. 

O  Mary  !  obtain  for  me  the  grace  to  persevere  in  my 
good  resolutions. 


THE    STORY    OF    A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION        199 

THE  LAST  WORDS  OF  ADVICE 

GIVEN   AT   THE    MISSION. 

I.  Be  careful  to  say  your  morning  and  evening  prayers; 
for  prayer  is  the  key  to  the  treasures  of  Heaven.  "  Ask, 
and  ye  shall  receive,"  says  our  Lord. 

n.  Often  call  to  mind  that  it  is  appointed  for  you  ONCE 
TO  DIE — you  know  not  when,  nor  where,  nor  how ;  only 
this  you  know :  that  if  you  die  in  mortal  sin,  you  will  be 
lost  for  ever;  if  you  die  in  the  state  of  grace,  you  will  be 
happy  for  ever. 

"  In  all  thy  works  remember  thy  last  end,  and  thou  shall 
never  sin"   (EccLus.  vii). 

HL  Never  neglect  to  hear  Mass  on  Sundays  and  Holy- 
days  of  Obligation.  By  uniting  our  hearts  with  all  the 
faithful  in  offering  up  the  great  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  we 
offer,  I  St,  an  act  of  infinite  adoration  to  God;  and  2d,  we 
bring  down  upon  ourselves  the  choicest  blessings  of 
Heaven. 

A  dark  cloud  hangs  over  the  Catholic  family  that  neg- 
lects Mass. 

IV.  Be  careful  about  what  you  read,  for  bad  reading  is 
poison  to  the  soul.  Provide  yourself  with  Catholic  books. 
Take  a  Catholic  newspaper. 

V.  Remember  that  a  man  is  known  by  his  company. 
Keep  away  from  the  saloon.  Beware  of  the  familiar  com- 
pany of  persons  of  the  other  sex.  Remember  what  you 
promised  at  the  Mission,  and  fly  from  the  danger  of  sin; 
for  "he  that  loveth  the  danger  shall  perish  in  it" 
(EccLUS.  iii). 

VI.  When  you  are  tempted  by  bad  thoughts,  say  quickly, 
"Jesus  and  Mary,  help  me !  "  Then  say  the  Hail  Mary 
till  you  have  banished  the  temptation.  Remember  that 
God  sees  you  at  every  instant. 

VII.  //  you  are  so  unhappy  as  to  fall  again  into  sin,  be 


200  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

not  discouraged;  quickly  beg  pardon  of  God,  and  seek  the 
first  opportunity  to  go  to  Confession,  and  start  again  in  a 
new  life. 

"  He  that  shall  persevere  unto  the  end,  he  shall  he  saved  " 
(Matt.  x). 

VIII.  Go  to  Confession  and  Communion  once  a  montJi, 
if  possible;  at  least  never  allow  three  montJis  .o  pass  with- 
out approaching  these  Sacraments.  By  Confession  our 
souls  are  cleansed  from  sin,  and  strengthened  to  resist 
temptation.  By  Communion  our  souls  are  nourished  by  the 
Sacred  Body  and  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  He  that  eateth  Me,  the  same  also  shall  live  by  Me " 
(John  vi.  58). 

A  Prayer  for  the  Conversion  of  Non-Catholics. 

O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  thou  Good  Shepherd  of  souls,  we 
beseech  thee  to  grant  us  the  grace  to  be  missionaries  of  thy 
holy  Faith ;  that  our  conversation  may  be  so  instructive  and 
our  behavior  so  edifying  that  thy  lost  sheep  shall  be  led  to 
hear  thy  Church,  and  be  brought  to  the  unity  of  the  one 
fold  and  the  loving  care  of  the  one  shepherd ;  who  livest 
and  reignest  for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

Our  Father,  Hail  Mary,  Glory  be  to  the  Father. 

The  attendance  was  something  wonderful.  The 
w^omen,  married  and  single,  edified  us  greatly  by 
their  punctuality,  their  patience  in  standing — as 
hundreds  did  during  the  entire  service — and  their 
zeal  in  bringing  sinners.  The  married  men,  in  some 
respects,  carried  off  the  prize.  Their  numbers 
naturally  fell  short  of  the  single  men,  but  their  at- 
tendance was  more  punctual,  especially  in  the  early 
morning,  and  their  attention  to  the  sermons  and  in- 
structions very  gratifying.  Much  of  this  is  ac- 
counted  for  by   the  working  Holy   Name   Society, 


THE    STORY    OF    A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION       20I 

whose  membership,  strictly  practical,  passes  nine 
hundred  men,  mostly  married.  That  large  number 
of  ap-fifressive  Catholic  men  was  more  than  enough 
to  leaven  the  whole  lump  of  twenty-four  hundred 
who  received  the  sacraments  that  week.  We  all 
know  that  the  best  and  worst  men  in  every  parish 
are  married  men ;  in  this  case  the  best  easily  carried 
the  day  against  the  worst,  thanks  mainly  to  the  Holy 
Name  Society. 

Yet,  somehow  or  other,  we  felt  that  the  young  men 
bore  away  the  palm.  There  is  more  show  in  their 
piety,  even — or  perhaps  especially — when  it  is  new 
born.  Their  temptations  are  stronger,  their  wisdom 
is  smaller,  their  vanity  is  more  silly ;  hence,  as  they 
fall  below  other  classes  in  incentives  to  good,  they 
are  more  deserving  of  praise  for  their  penance.  Their 
week  filled  the  souls  of  the  missionaries  with  consola- 
tion. 

The  dispositions  in  the  confessional  were  excel- 
lent— on  the  part  of  sinners,  deep  sorrow  for  their 
sins  and  entire  readiness  to  take  practical  means  of 
amendment  of  life ;  on  the  part  of  the  good  people  an 
unfeigned  purpose  to  struggle  forward  to  Christian 
perfection.  Against  the  proximate  occasions  of  vice, 
so  very  common  and  so  very  enticing  in  our  cities, 
penitents  spontaneously  made  the  necessary  prom- 
ises. One  of  the  best  fruits  of  the  mission  was  the 
handing  in  of  over  2,500  signed  promises  of  total  ab- 
stinence ;  eight  hundred  of  these  were  made  by  the 
young  men  alone.  The  sermon  on  intemperance  was 
preached  Wednesday  or  Thursday  night  of  each 
week,  and  a  card  given  to  each  person  present ;  this 


202  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

was  a  total  abstinence  promise  for  a  specified  time, 
and  was  to  be  signed  and  kept  at  home ;  but  a  coupon 
was  attached,  bearing  the  name  and  address  of  the 
signer,  and  was  handed  in  to  the  missionaries  as  they 
went  through  the  church  collecting  them,  the  even- 
ing after  the  temperance  sermon.  In  this  way  a  blow 
direct  is  delivered  against  the  dominant  vice  of  all 
city  parishes,  and  it  is  effected  without  undue 
pressure,  the  signing  being  done  after  giving  time  to 
think  and  pray  and  advise  with  the  '*  home  authori- 
ties."   The  following  is  the  card: 


Total  Abstinence  Promise 

MADE 

At  the  Mission  given  by  the  Paulist  Fathers 

IN 

€burcb  of  $i  Paul  tbe  Hpostle, 

NE\F  YORK,  JANUARY,  1898. 


For  the  love  of  God  and  for  the  good  of 
my  sold,  I  promise  to  abstain  from  intoxi- 
cating drinks. 

Name. 

For years. 

This  card  was  used  with  all  classes,  married  and 
single,  sober  or  intemperate,  some  for  cure,  others 
for  preventive,  and  all  to  help  on  the  good  cause  of 


THE    STORY   OF    A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION        2O3 

temperance,  to  create  an  aversion  for  convivial  hab- 
its, and  to  antagonize  one  of  the  deadHest  foes  of 
the  church  in  our  country,  the  saloon.  On  the  re- 
verse side  of  the  card  was  the  following : 

A's  REASON. 

I  feel  that  by  making  this  promise  I  can  encourage  others,, 
who  may  need  it,  to  do  the  same. 

Bs  REASON. 

I  have  noticed  .hat  those  who  make  and  keep  such  prom- 
ises are  better  Chri?tians.  have  better  health,  longer  Hie, 
and  pleasanter  homes  than  habitual  drinkers. 

Cs  REASON. 

I  cannot  afford  to  be  constantly  drinking.  I  have  a  fam- 
ily to  support,  and  they  need  all  I  can  earn. 

D's  REASON. 

I  must  do  some  penance  for  my  sins ;  such  self-denial  is 
pleasing  to  God  and  meritorious  for  me. 

E's  REASON. 

I  am  afraid  of  giving  scandal  to  my  children,  or  to 
others ;  should  any  one  by  my  example  become  a  drunkard, 
what  could  I  answer  in  the  day  of  Judgment  ? 

E's  REASON. 

Drunkenness  is  a  great  cause  of  sin,  cruelty,  and  crime ; 
I  intend  to  avoid  even  the  occasion  of  it. 

G's  REASON. 

Once  I  was  a  victim  of  the  drink  habit.  I  am  resolved 
never  again  to  submit  to  its  slavery. 

H's  REASON. 

When  the  demon  of  discord  caused  by  drink  enters  the 
house,  the  Angel  of  Peace  departs.  I  prefer  dwelling  with 
the  Angel  of  Peace  than  with  the  demon  of  discord. 


204  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

Many  new  members  joined  the  temperance  socie- 
ties of  the  women  as  well  as  of  the  men,  recruits 
being  enrolled,  however,  only  after  the  mission  was 
over,  lest  brittle  timber  should  be  put  into  the  good 
ship.  Over  three  hundred  members  were  added  to 
the  great  Holy  Name  Society,  and  large  additions 
were  made  to  the  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and 
the  Sodality  of  the  Annunciation.  Meantime  a  class 
of  grown-up  persons  was  formed  for  confirmation, 
and  Bishop  Farley  administered  the  sacrament  to 
more  than  two  hundred.  Thus  the  Catholic  mission 
was  a  signal  success. 

Let  us  do  justice  to  those  who  mainly  caused  it — 
the  practical  Catholics  of  the  parish.  When  appealed 
to  to  be  missionaries  with  us,  to  pray  and  to  work  as 
sent  by  God  to  save  sinners,  they  took  us  at  our 
word.  They  beset  sinners  with  every  form,  of  spirit- 
ual attack  and  gave  them  no  rest  till  they  surren- 
dered and  came  to  the  services.  Even  Protestants 
helped.  These  saw  the  big  sign  or  read  the  press  no- 
tices which  we  managed  to  have  inserted  in  the  city 
dailies,  and  chafifed  their  Catholic  friends,  not  all  in 
joke  either,  about  attending  to  their  religion.  Two 
Protestants  working  down-town  with  a  ''  hickory  " 
Catholic  of  the  parish  saw  the  sign,  and  one  of  them 
said :  "  If  I  were  a  Catholic  I  would  show  my  ap- 
preciation of  my  religion  by  going  to  that  mission." 
The  other  Protestant  backed  him  up,  and  their  care- 
less friend  was  finally  shamed  into  making  the  mis- 
sion, and  related  the  incident  to  one  of  the  mission- 
aries— an  illustration,  by  the  way,  of  the  decadence 
of  Protestant  prejudice.    During   the    four  Catholic 


* 
THE    STORY    OF    A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION       205' 

weeks  the  people  were  now  and  then  reminded  of  the 
week  for  the  non-CathoHcs  which  was  coming.  Each 
penitent  received,  folded  in  the  ordinary  remem- 
brance leaflet  (itself  containing  a  prayer  for  conver- 
sions) the  following  ingeniously  concocted  stimulant 
to  missionary  effort : 

Apostolate  of  Prayer 

AND 

Work    for    the    Conversion    of    America    to    the     True 
Faith  of  Christ. 

1.  Select  One  Soul  for  whose  conversion  you  wish  to  pray 
in  a  most  special  manner. 

2.  Pray  daily,  in  union  with  all  the  members,  that  the 
Alost  Precious  Blood  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  may  fall  upon  and  save  that  one  soul. 

3.  By  good  example,  by  great  gentleness  and  kindness,  at- 
tract that  one  soul  to  Christ.  Lose  no  favorable  oppor- 
tunity, by  conversation,  Catholic  reading,  acts  of  charity 
and  self-sacrifice,  to  gain  that  one  soul  for  whom  Jesus 
died  on  the  Cross. 

4.  Do  not  lose  hope  if  you  do  not  at  once  succeed.  Re- 
member that  patience  is  a  missionary  virtue  as  well  as 
zeal.  "  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should 
cast  seed  into  the  earth,  and  should  sleep  and  rise,  night 
and  day,  and  the  seed  should  spring,  and  grow  up  whilst 
he  knoweth  not."    (St.   Mark  iv.  26.) 

5.  Report  success  to  your  Pastor,  and  bring  him  others  to 
join  this  Apostolate.  One  soul  is  worth  the  Blood  of 
the  Redeemer. 

A  Prayer  for  Christian  Unity. 

O  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  Spirit  of  Truth  and  Love,  who 
desirest  that  all  nations  and  peoples  and  tongues  should 
be  brought  into  one  Faith,  we  beseech  Thee  to  enlighten 


206 


REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 


our  understanding  and  strengthen  our  will,  that  we  may 
zealously  work  and  pray  for  the  conversion  of  our  beloved 
country.  Grant  us .  the  privilege  of  helping  our  fellow- 
countrymen  to  believe  the  doctrines  which  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  taught  by  His  Apostles,  and  to  accept  the  means  of 
salvation  which,  through  their  successors,  He  administers 
unto  men's  souls.  O  Holy  Spirit !  Thou  personal  Bond  of 
Infinite  and  Eternal  Union  between  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  grant  that  all  mankind  may  be  made  one,  as  in  Thee 
the  Father  and  the  Son  are  one ;  grant  that  all  may  belong 
to  that  one  Fold,  of  which  Christ  is  the  one  Shepherd,  and 
go  onward  by  the  one  Way  of  Truth  to  life  everlasting. 
Amen. 
Our  Father;  Hail  Mary;  Glory  be  to  the  Father. 

We  opened  the  non-Catholic  mission  the  closing 
Sunday  of  the  last  week  of  the  Catholic  mission.  Of 
course  every  effort  had  been  made  by  the  missiona- 
ries to  attract  Protestants  to  the  services,  depending 
mainly,  however,  upon  the  personal  exertions  of 
our  parishioners  among  their  friends.  Needless  to 
say  that  vast  audiences  of  CathoHcs  came ;  but  we 
had,  as  we  expected,  a  large  attendance  of  non- 
Catholics  every  night,  no  less  than  six  hundred  at 
some  of  the  lectures,  perhaps  even  more.  The  zeal 
of  Catholics  for  their  own  salvation  broadened  out 
until  it  embraced  their  separated  brethren,  and  by 
every  means  allowable  sought  to  bring  them  to  the 
church.  We  wish  to  insist  that  the  reason  for  the 
evident  improvement  in  tone  as  well  as  increased  at- 
tendance of  non-Catholics  at  this  year's  mission  is 
to  be  attributed  to  the  Catholic  people's  zeal.  In  this 
parish  they  have  been  for  many  years  steadily  re- 
minded of  their  vocation  to  convert  their  fellow-citi- 
zens to  the  true  religion,  and  now  they  are  pretty 


THE   STORY   OF   A    [CATHOLIc]    MISSION       207 

fully  awake  to  that  holy  duty.  They  know  that  we 
are  ready  to  do  our  part,  and  always  at  their  service 
to  instruct  or  even  to  argue  with  their  non-Catholic 
friends,  and  that  we  have  in  the  church  office  an  un- 
failing supply  of  free  doctrinal  literature.  In  fact 
the  people  are  beginning  to  have  a  missionary  con- 
science, and  results  show  accordingly.  This  is  il- 
lustrated by  the  way  the  invitations  to  non-Catholics 
were  distributed.  We  printed  three  thousand  copies 
of  the  accompanying  card,  placed  them  in  envelopes, 
and  notified  the  people  at  Mass  two  Sundays  before 
we  began  with  the  non-Catholics ;  the  three  thousand 
w^ere  gone  in  a  flash — it  was  hard  to  get  a  single  card 
that  Sunday  noon.  They  were  all  addressed  and 
mailed  by  the  people  to  their  non-Catholic  friends; 
and  this  was  a  strong  reinforcement  to  the  invita- 
tions given  personally. 

You  ore  invited  to  attend  a  course  of 
Lectures  in  the  Paulist  Church, 
Columbus  Avenue  and  Fifty-ninth 
Street,  during  the  ez'enings  of  the 
week  beginning  Sunday,  February  6. 
The  topics  chosen  are  calctdated  to  in- 
terest yon  very  deeply,  bearing  as 
they  do  upon  matters  of  vital  religious 
interest.  They  zvill  be  presented  in  a 
friendly  spirit,  our  purpose  being  a 
plain  exposition  of  Catholic  doctrine 
and  practice. 

This  card  will  secure  you  a  seat  dur- 
ing the  entire  course. 

Very  faithfully  yours. 

The  Paulist  Fathers. 


208  REVIVALS    AND    MISSIONS 

The  reverse  of  the  card  read  as  follows : 
List  of  Lecture  Topics 

No  Salvation  outside  the  Catholic 
Church. — This  dogma  clearly 
explained. 

How  to  be  rid  of  Sin. — Actual  prac- 
tice of  Catholics. — The  Confes- 
sional. 

The  Dead. — Our  relation  to  those  who 
have  gone  before  us. 

Church  Authority. — Its  necessity  for 
preserving  purity  of  doctrine 
and  administering  the  aids  of 
religion. 

Communion  with  the  blessed  in 
Heaven. — The  intercession  of 
the  Saints. 

The  Real  Presence  of  Christ  in  the 
Eucharist. — The  Sacrifice  of 
the  Mass. 

The  Interior  Life  of  Catholics. — 
Prayer,  Meditation,  Sanctifica- 
tion. 

Question  Box 

The  result  was  very  consoling.  The  most  intelli- 
gent of  our  Catholics  were  present  every  evening, 
mingled  with  the  best  kind  of  non-Catholics,  whom 
they  had  in  most  cases  brought  with  them.  We  no- 
ticed that  a  very  large  proportion  of  our  guests,  as 


THE    STORY    OF   A    [CATHOLIc]     MISSION       209 

we  may  call  them,  acted  not  only  with  decorum,  but 
even  with  reverence,  many  of  them  joining  in  the 
hymns,  and  kneeling  during  Benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament. 

Doctrinal  leaflets  were  eagerly  accepted  every 
night.  Many  hundreds  of  good  books  were  bought 
by  the  non-Catholics  at  the  church  entrances  (for  a 
very  small  price,  to  be  sure)  and  taken  home  to  play 
the  silent  part  of  the  Apostolate  of  the  Press  in  fu- 
ture conversions.  Ninety-one  non-Catholics  attended 
the  first  meeting  of  our  Inquiry  Class.  Of  these  more 
than  three-fourths  are  practically  certain  of  taking 
instructions  and  of  being  received  into  the  church  in 
the  near  future ;  this  in  addition  to  about  a  score  of 
converts  already  received,  men  and  women  whose 
instruction  was  found  advanced  enough  to  be  fin- 
ished during  the  five  weeks  of  the  mission. 

The  faults  we  have  to  find  with  the  Catholic  mis- 
sion are  all  centered  in  one — a  week  is  hardly  long 
enough  to  add  to  conversion  from  a  sinful  life  a 
sufficiently  developed  prospect  of  perseverance.  We 
have  said  that  we  preach  the  old  mission  of  St.  Al- 
phonsus ;  let  us  frankly  correct  that  statement,  and 
admit  that  we  and  missionaries  generally  preach  an 
abridgement  of  it — we  do  not,  we  cannot  as  yet,  give 
the  fulness  of  eflfect  in  an  eight  days'  mission  that 
can  be  given  by  a  fortnight.  The  old  mission  which 
the  writer  knew,  even  as  lately  as  in  the  early  seven- 
ties, is  now  seldom  given.  It  embraced  two  full 
weeks  of  preaching  to  the  same  auditory ;  it  fully  de- 
veloped the  motives  of  repentance ;  it  fully  developed 
the  means  of  perseverance.    Special  discourses  were 


2IO  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

delivered  against  besetting  vices;  the  love  of  God, 
and  the  sufiferings  of  Christ,  together  with  other  of 
the  nobler  motives  for  a  good  life,  were  not  crowded 
into  the  background ;  they  were  so  strongly  urged 
that  they  could  dominantly  characterize  the  whole 
spiritual  effect  of  the  mission.  In  all  religious  influ- 
ences time  is  of  great  value,  hurry  is  an  injury;  as, 
for  example,  even  an  appearance  of  haste  in  a  con- 
fessor hurts  his  ministry,  just  as  a  leisurely,  deliber- 
ate, patient,  and  waiting  manner  helps  him.  So  with 
our  "  divided  "  missions,  and  our  one  week's  mis- 
sions generally — they  are  too  short  in  time,  they  are 
too  scanty  in  matter.  It  is  remarkable  that  with  all 
this  deficiency  so  many  sinners  are  permanently  con- 
verted, being  helped  by  good  example  at  home,  by 
good  reading,  by  increased  church  facilities,  by 
more  numerous  clergy — for  a  zealous  and  painstak- 
ing parish  priest  is  a  gift  of  God  for  perseverance 
superior  to  that  any  mission  can  give.  But  let  us 
not  cease  to  hope  that  missionaries  may  be  so  multi- 
plied that  soon  the  integral  fulness  of  spiritual  bene- 
fit may  be  easily  given  in  these  gatherings  of  the 
people  for  a  renewal  of  Christ's  sovereignty  over 
them  and  the  freer  working  of  his  church  for  their 
salvation.  We  read  in  the  history  of  missions  in 
Italy  and  France  that  a  band  of  fathers  would  re- 
main in  a  small  parish  over  a  month,  thoroughly 
hunt  up  every  sinner,  first  drive  home  the  fear  of 
God  till  it  became  a  permanent  quality  of  the  soul, 
then  elevate  this  motive  by  constant  preaching  and 
personal  converse  into  habitual  and  conscious  love  of 
Jesus  Christ.   Much  the  same  should  be  done  to-day 


THE   STORY   OF   A    [CATHOLIc]    MISSION      211 

in  a  great  number  of  our  own  parishes,  and  it  is  not 
done  for  lack  of  missionaries. 

What  somewhat  atoned  for  this  want  in  our  mis- 
sion, though  not  entirely,  was  the  great  church, 
w^hich  accommodated  more  than  three  thousand  per- 
sons, most  of  whom  could  be  seated  during  the  ser- 
vices. The  congregational  singing  also  helped  to 
soften  hearts.  The  people  were  their  own  choir  at 
every  service,  early  morning  and  night.  The  hymns 
are  tuneful  and  their  words  full  of  solid  doctrine, 
worth  knowing  by  heart.  The  singing,  especially 
that  by  the  great  chorus  of  the  men,  was  something 
heavenly.  The  men  as  they  sang  were  preaching 
God's  truth  to  themselves  in  noble  musical  cadence ; 
they  felt  it,  and  it  aided  the  mission  effect  wonder- 
fully. 

Fewer  defects,  we  think,  can  be  found  in  the  non- 
Catholic  mission  than  in  the  Catholic  one.  •  We  got 
the  audience,  we  imparted  plain  teaching  of  the  chief 
typically  Catholic  doctrines,  we  answered  questions 
ranging  over  the  entire  field  of  religion,  natural  and 
revealed,  and  w^e  stocked  every  non-Catholic  hearer 
with  the  printed  truth  in  abundance.  What  more 
could  we  do?  The  answer  is  the  burden  of  com- 
plaint of  all  who  are  engaged  in  this  Apostolate ;  we 
do  not  preach  penance  enough  to  non-Catholics,  nor 
other  motives  which  are  calculated  to  stimulate  the 
conscience  to  positive  acceptance  of  the  truth,  as 
well  as  to  active  search  for  it. 

To  this  the  rejoinder  is  that  non-Catholics  are  not 
nearly  so  much  attracted  by  such  topics  as  awake  a 
dead  conscience  as  they  are  by  those  which  are  in 


212  REVIVALS   AND    MISSIONS 

dispute  between  themselves  and  the  church.  This 
course  may  be  pursued,  however:  the  doctrinal  dis- 
courses may  be. toned  with  a  gentle  note  of  divine 
love,  or  some  strong  sentiment  of  responsibility  to 
God — as  indeed  we  tried  to  do. 

Anyway,  wt  have  reason  to  be  thankful  to  God  for 
our  mission,  one  of  a  kind  given  by  all  communities 
and  by  the  new  diocesan  missionaries  everywhere  in 
this  country.  As  to  converts,  our  success  this  time 
is  very  encouraging.  Consider  that  every  convert, 
according  to  the  usual  rule,  will  sooner  or  later  bring 
in  at  least  one  other,  generally  more,  and  this  gives 
a  cheerful  outlook.  "  To  him  that  hath  shall  be 
given  "  is  never  more  true  than  in  the  case  of  a  par- 
ish in  which  converts  already  abound.  Each  har- 
vest fills  not  only  the  barns,  but  provides  seed-corn 
for  yet  other  harvests. 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Acknowledgment  Card,  130,  131. 
Advertising  Committee,  91,  92. 
Adams,  Thomas,  9. 
A  Devoted  Woman,  y^)- 
After  Meetings,  103-138. 
Age  of  Accountability,  122. 
Aitken,  Robert,  158-179. 
Archbishop  of  York,  159. 

Beecher,  Dr.  Lyman,  no. 
BeHef  in  Revivals,  140. 
Benefit  of  Revivals,  64. 
Bishop  of  Rochester.  159-174. 
Booth,  Rev.  R.  R.,  D.  D.,  4-5. 
Booth,  Mrs.  Catherine,  5. 
Brief  Service,  138. 
Bushnell,  Dr.,  60. 

Calvin,  19. 

Canvassing  Committee,  92. 
Cards  for  Inquirers,  85-102. 
Cave  of  Engedi,  149. 
Caring  for  Results,  131-132. 
Church  in  Sardis,  162. 
Church  Officers,  82. 
Church  Officer's  Concern,  74. 
Chambers,  Dr.,  z^. 
Chance  in  Early  Life,  122. 

213 


214  INDEX 

Conception  of  Lost  Condition  of  Men,  136. 
Confidence  in  God,  118- 119 
Conviction  of  Sinners,  78. 
Cuyler,  Dr.  T.  L.,  61. 

Davies,  Samuel,  109-110. 

Devotional  Committee,  95. 

De  Paul,  St.  Vincent,  158. 

Deism,  12. 

Dean  Church,  London.  160. 

DECISION  DAY,  121  to  132,  inclusive. 

"  "        Age  of  accountability,  122. 

"  "        Past  redemption  point,  122. 

"  "        Chance  in  early  life,  122. 

"  "       Danger  in  delay,  124-125-126. 

"  "        Preparing  for  decision  day,  127-128-129. 

"  "       The  plan,  129. 

"  "        The  teacher,  130. 

"  *'        The  acknowledgment  card,  130-131. 

"  "       Caring  for  results.  131-132. 

Doorkeeper  at  Meetings,  97. 
Dominican  and  Redemptorist  Monks,  159. 
Disraeli,  115. 
Distrust  in  Revivals,  139. 
Drummond,  Henry,  176, 
Dvvight,  24. 

Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  186. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  28,  107,  108,  109,  no. 

Edward  Whitfield  Compared,  19. 

Elliott,  Rev.  Walter,  188. 

Every  Sermon  with  plan  of  Salvation,  140. 

Evangelists,  64,  65,  159. 

Executive  Committee,  89-90. 

Expect  Results,  119. 

Farwell,  John  V.,  36. 

Finance  Committee,  90. 

Finney,  Charles  G.,  7,  24.  25,  2y,  28.  2>2),  40,  41,  42,    69,  107. 


INDEX 


215 


Finney's  Conversion,  46,  47,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56, 

57,  58. 
Free  Will  Oflfering.  96. 

Gale,  Rev.  George  W.,  43. 
General  Preparation  for  a  Revival,  86. 
General  Convention  of  1869,  159. 
Griffin,  Dr.  Edward  Dorr,  24,  81-111. 
Guild  of  the  Iron  Cross,  161. 

Hetherington,  Dr.,  2. 

Helpfulness  of  Personal  Effort,  137. 

History  of  Parochial  Mission,  158-161. 

Holy  Ghost,  10,  26,  38,  44,  45,  46,  65,  66,  68,  69,  -ji,  79,  80, 

83,  107,  115,  140,  164,  174. 
Humphrey's  Letters,  78. 

INDICATION  OF  A  REVIVAL,  67  to  79. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon,  67. 

"  The  Prayer  Meeting,  69. 

The  Word  of  God,  69. 
"  Zeal  in  the  Church,  69- 

72. 
"  Mr.  Finney,  69. 

"  Spirit  of  Prayer,  71. 

"  Devoted  Woman,  y},. 

Church    Officers'     Con- 
cern, 74. 
"  Pointed  Preaching,  76. 

Revival  in  Rochester,  yy. 
Conviction    of    Sinners, 
78. 
"  Dr.     Humphreys'     Let- 

ters, 78. 
Illustration  of  Hindrance,  142. 

Inquirers'  Cards,  85-102. 

Inquirers,  104. 

Infidelity,  143. 

Intense  Desire  for  Revival,  81. 


« 


2  I  6  INDEX 

Justification,  107-108. 

Kimball,  Edward,  34. 

Lack  of  Earnestness,  140. 
London  Mission,  158-159. 
Luther,  Martin,  19-61. 

Materialistic  Methods,  26. 

McAuley,  Jerry,  186. 

McCheyne,  140. 

Meroz,  139. 

METHODS  OF  WORK,  83  to  106. 

Pastors,  104. 

"  '*  "       Subjects  for  Sermons,  84. 

"    '        "       Inquirers'  Cards,  85-102. 

"  **  "       General  Preparation,  86. 

"  **  "       Preparation  in  Jacksonville,   III, 

86. 

"  "  "      Union   Prayer  Meeting,  87. 

"  "  "       Special  Suggestions  for  Organi- 

zation. 88-89. 

"  "  "       Executive  Committee,  89-90. 

"  "  "       Advertising  Committee,  91-92. 

**  "  "       Canvassing  Committee,  92. 

"  "  "       Music  Committee,  94-95. 

"  **  "       Devotional  Committee,  95. 

"  **  "       Ushers  and  Assistants,  96,  97,  98, 

99,  100,  lOI. 

"  "  "       Doorkeeper,  97. 

"  "  "       After  Meetings,  103-138. 

"  "  "       Inquirers,  104. 

Methods  and  Machinery,  133. 
Moody,  D.  L.,  4,  3i,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  3^,  ii3,  ii4,  120, 

152,  181. 
Moorhouse,  Harry,  114. 
Mills,  24. 
MuUer,  George,  135. 


INDEX  217 

Music  Committee,  94-95. 
Magnify  the  Word  of  God,  107. 

Nettleton,  Dr.  Asahel,  24,  25,  27,  28,  40,  112,  113. 

Neglect  to  Wait  Before  God,  133. 

Newell,  William  W.,  D.  D.,  114. 

Newton,  Dr.  Richard,  176. 

Noon  Day  Meeting,  149. 

Northfield,  176. 

No  Man  Cared  for  my  Soul  (Sermon),  148. 

New  York  Advent  Mission,  160. 

Oxford,  22-23. 

Pastors,  84,  115,  140. 

Paul,  39,  141. 

Parochial  Mission  Society  for  the  United  States,  160,  178. 

Past  Redemption  Point,  122. 

People  a  Hindrance,  141. 

Pointed  Preaching,  76. 

Proper  Ventilation,  137-138. 

Preparing  for  Decision  Day,  127,  128,  129. 

Preparation  in  Jacksonville,  111.,  86. 

Presbyterian  Churches  in  Philadelphia,  64,  81,  110. 

Prejudice  against  Revivals,  i. 

Profound  Belief  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  134. 

PREACHING  IN  REVIVALS,  107  to  120,  inclusive. 

"  "  "  Fearless  Preachers,  107. 

Mr.    Edwards   at   Enfield, 
108. 
"  "  "  Davies  of  Virginia,  109. 

"  **  "  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  no. 

Dr.  Griffin,  in. 
Nettleton,  112-113. 
D.  L.  Moody,  113-114. 
'*  "  "  Harry  Moorhouse,  114. 

William  W.  Newell,  114. 
Disraeli,   115. 


2lS 


INDEX 


tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

PREACHING  IN  REVIVALS,  Confidence  m  God,  ii8. 
"  "  "  Expect  Results,  119. 

"  "  "  Profession  of  Faith,  119. 

Plan  of  Salvation,  119. 
"  "  "  Moody  and  Sankey,  120. 

PREPARING  FOR  A  REVIVAL,  80-82. 

Intense  Desire,  81. 
Dr.  Griffin,  81. 
"  "  Season  of  Prayer,  82. 

Church  Officers,  82. 

REVIVALS  HINDERED,  139  to  143. 

*'  "  Distrust  in  Revivals,  139. 

"  "  Plan  of  Salvation,  139. 

"  "  Belief  in  Revival,  140. 

Pastors,  140. 

Lack  of  Earnestness,  140. 
People  a  Hindrance,  141. 
"  "  Illustration  of  Hindrance,  142. 

Infidelity,  143. 
Rationalistic  Methods,  26. 
Revivals,  Benefit  of,  64. 

"        Intense  Desire  for,  81. 
"        In  Old  Testament,  3. 
"        Second  Era  of,  24. 
"        Prejudice  Against,  I. 
"        Attack  upon,  6. 
Revival  in  Rochester,  77. 
Revival  of  1857,  61. 
Revival  of  1858,  31. 
Revival  of  1859,  29. 
Reaction  Toward  Religion,  20. 
REVIVAL  TEXTS  AND  SERMON,  144  to  157. 

Texts       for       The 
Church,   144-145. 
"  "  "  "  Sermons     on     The 

Holy  Ghost,  145- 
146. 


INDEX        '  219 

REVIVAL  TEXTS  AND  SERMONS,  For  Young  People, 

146. 
"  "  "  For  Women,  146. 

"  "  "  For  Men,  146-147. 

«  "  "  "  For    The    Unsaved, 

147-148. 
"  "  "  "  To   Christians,    148, 

149,  150,  151,  152, 
153,  154,  155.  156, 
157. 
REVIVALS  HELPED,  133  to  138. 

Neglect  to  Wait  Before  God,  133. 
"  "  Methods  and  Machinery.  133. 

Belief  in  The  Holy  Ghost,  134- 
**  "  Belief  in  Prayer.  135. 

"  "  Conception  of  the  Lost  Condition 

of  Men,  136. 
"  "  Personal  Effort,  137- 

"  "  Prayer  List,  137. 

"  "  Proper  Ventilation.  137-138. 

•     "  Brief  Service,  138. 

Singing,  138. 

Sankey,  Ira  D.,  2>^,  37,  120. 

Salvation  Plan  of,  119. 

Second  Era  of  Revivals,  24. 

Sermons  for  the  Church,  144-145. 

Sermons  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  145-146. 

Sermons  for  Men,  146-147. 

Sermons  for  Young  People,  146. 

Sermons  for  Women,  146. 

Sermon  to  Christians,  148,  149.  150,  151,  152.  153.  154,  155. 

156,  157. 
Society  of  St.  John  The  Evangelist,  158. 
Sovereignty  of  God,  27. 
Special  Suggestions  for  Organization,  88-89. 
Spirit  of  Prayer,  71. 
Spurgeon,  Mr.,  67. 


2  20  INDEX 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  158. 

Taylor.  Hudson,  135. 

Texts.  144,  145,  146.  147.  148. 

The  Teacher.  130. 

The  Church  of  England  Parochial  Mission  Society,  159. 

The  Great  Awakening.  13. 

Thorold.  Bishop.  179-182. 

Tolstoi,  Count  Leo,  155. 

Union  Prater  Meetings.  87. 

Ushers  and  Assistants,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100,  loi. 

Varley.  Henrj*.  ^7. 
Ventilation.  137-138. 

Wesleyan  Evangelists,  159. 

Wesley.  John.  17,  18.  40,  107,  158. 

Whitfield.  George.  17,  18,  19,  20,  23,  40,  107,  109,  115. 

Whitfield's  Mother,  22. 

Whitfield's  Father,  20. 

Whitfield  and  Edwards  Compared,  19. 

William  of  Orange,  12. 

Word  of  God.  69. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  31,  32,  3Sr  36. 

Zeal  in  the  Church,  69-72. 


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